Asuma's Hardest Mission
by PhinalPhantasy
Summary: NO SPOILERS! COMPLETED! Probably AU. Tsunade has assigned Asuma his toughest mission yet...find a perfect engagement ring for Kurenai and propose to her in the most romantic way possible! How will he accomplish this and what obstacles stand in his way.
1. The Mission Begins

Asuma's Hardest Mission

Chapter 1--The Mission is Assigned

(A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to the next installment in my Naruto series of stories. This is the third one I've done. The first being "Love Doctor of Konoha" and the second being "A Party for a Lonely Heart." You don't need to read those to understand this however. Anything from a previous story that I may use in this one will be in a convenient flashback the staple of Naruto ;) I know something terrible happens to Asuma later in the real story, but I don't know the details of it nor do I _want_ to know until I read/watch it for myself. As such this story doesn't take those recent events into account and won't have any spoilers. If this story is contradicted by canon that I am not aware of yet, consider this story AU if it will make you happy. That being said I hope you enjoy!)

(Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters. They belong to the great Kishimoto-sensei)

Sarutobi Asuma had just left the Hokage's office after a quick meeting with Tsunade. He saw the beautiful face of his lover, Yuhi Kurenai smiling at him as he walked out.

"So…what did Hokage-sama want, Asuma?" Kurenai asked.

"Sorry Kurenai, top secret," Asuma smiled as they walked out arm-in-arm.

"Are you sure? It's awfully convenient that you just came out of there with a mission after we just went to Hokage-sama for personal reasons," Kurenai replied.

"You know the rules Kurenai. It's an A-class mission and it's top secret. It's also a solo mission. That's all you're allowed to know. That and it may take me a while," Asuma said.

"Is this to get out of what we were arguing about earlier?" Kurenai asked.

"I thought you were just over that," Asuma said desperately. Just before Asuma received his mission parameters, he and Kurenai were arguing about whether or not they should move in together. Kurenai really wanted to, but Asuma was reluctant since they weren't married yet and he didn't want to send the wrong message to their young students…or his even younger nephew for that matter.

"I am. I just want to know how long I have to wait before we can continue to discuss our future plans," she said, hinting at Tsunade's solution to their problem.

"I know I said this mission may take a while but I hope it won't..."

"You better be careful Sarutobi Asuma," Kurenai said sternly, "and you better come back sooner rather than later."

Asuma moved in closer and kissed his girlfriend on the cheek, "Hey it's me," he said reassuringly, "and I promise one more thing. I will be able to tell you all about it after the mission is over…on our next date."

"Really?" Kurenai asked.

"It's a promise. And I already know where I want to take you, but I had better go now," Asuma said heading towards the village gates.

"One last thing before you go," Kurenai wrapped her arms around Asuma's neck and kissed him passionately on the lips. They stayed like that for a while and were both smiling when they finally broke apart, "A little good luck charm for you…and some incentive for you to come back," she smiled, caressing her boyfriend's cheek.

"That's plenty of both. I know this mission will go well," Asuma said as he waved one last time to his lover. When he felt he was far enough away he breathed a sigh of relief, _"That was close. I was worried she was going to figure out what the 'mission' was…finding the perfect engagement ring for her. Even though Tsunade-sama came up with the idea of a 'mission' for a cover for conspiring to get me to finally propose to Kurenai, she isn't a fool. She's as smart as she is beautiful. She deserves the best and even though I'm not worthy, I'm glad she chose me…God how I love her. Better hurry to the next town to get some info…"_ with those thoughts in his mind, Asuma headed out to find what he hoped would be the ring of Kurenai's dreams.

(A/N: I know it's a short start, but I promise it will pick up soon on the next chapter. Reviews, as always, are definately welcome!)


	2. Theives in the Night

Chapter 2—Thieves in the Night

(A/N: Hello, I'm sorry this update took a while but I've been working on finishing another fic. Anyways I'm glad that my first chapter got so many positive reviews and I hope that this next chapter was worth the wait.)

(Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters. They belong to Kishimoto-sensei)

Asuma ninja-leaped from tree to tree leaving the main village of Konoha, heading for one of the smaller villages with hot springs. Considering their reputation for great romantic getaways, he figured it'd be a good place to start his search. He approached it just as a man was running out of the village in a desperate hurry.

"Hold it right there. What's going on?" Asuma asked landing in front of the guy, "Don't worry, I'm from Konoha I can help."

"Oh I was on my way there to request aid. We've had trouble with a thief lately in the area."

"Well let me go check out what your thief's been taking and where. It shouldn't take too long." Asuma was led into the marketplace where several merchants were arguing profusely.

"Alright what's the deal?" Asuma asked.

"Everyday this week, one of our shops was robbed and the jewelry and money were picked clean."

"_Great the jewelry,"_ Asuma thought to himself, _"Looks like I'm going to have to take care of this for more than one reason."_ "Okay I'll get right on it," he said out loud, "Which store do you think is next. I'll stake it out tonight," he promised.

XXX

That night as Asuma hid inside one of the back closets, the lights completely out a trio of people broke through the glass.

"Aniki! You're too loud! You'll attract attention," the first person said.

"Relax men, it's okay to be flashy. We haven't been caught yet and we'll be well remembered for this," their apparent leader said, "The greatest romantic gesture ever. I will give her every diamond ring possible from this village. She'll _have_ to love me then!" his eyes brightened and shined almost as bad as Might Guy's would have.

"Aniki you're so cool!" the third person said in admiration. They wore what appeared to be chunin or jonin vests but are light tan in color and hoods that covered most of their heads except their faces and had headbands with a symbol that resembled a mirror-written question mark.

"_Who the heck are these guys?"_ Asuma said. The trio broke out a hammer and broke a glass display case, "Okay that's enough!" Asuma shouted.

"Who dares interrupt our Aniki!" the first guy shouted.

"Sarutobi Asuma from Konoha."

"I recognize that uniform and headband. He must be a friend of Hatake Kakashi!" the leader said.

"And you would be..."

"We are Kakashi's greatest rivals. If you are a friend of his, certainly you should've heard of us. We're the Haze Ninja!" they began to strike a pose and the leader's two younger brothers resembled the kanji that spelled the word Haze.

"Nope...never heard of you." Asuma said simply. The three ninja looked dejected as the cry of a crow saying "Baka" was heard over and over flew past the area.

"But we have fought against him twice and are still as determined as ever. How can we _not_ be well known. Well no matter. We'd rather be known as the greatest romantic ninja of all time!"

"And how would that be?" Asuma asked.

One of the younger brothers chimed in, "Well we're taking every engagement ring in this village and presenting them as the ultimate dowry in addition to showering her with money!"

"You guys are ridiculous!" Asuma said.

"Well our brother was rejected when he was romantic so it's obvious that it's an issue of money cause who would reject a man who's rich _and_ romantic," the other younger brother said.

"Did you ever consider the possibility that the lady isn't interested?" Asuma said annoyed.

"**Impossible!"** they all said, "Our brother is the most sensitive man to a woman's needs! Just watch as we take this jewelry to her! You'll see!"

"I'm sorry but your little raid ends here!" Asuma said, "You're obviously amateurs so don't try to resist."

"Oh yeah try this!" one of the younger brothers drew out a small blowgun and blew a dart that Asuma deflected with one of his blades and it hit the other young brother.

"NO!" the one who got hit said and then coughed.

"Bless you," Asuma said instinctively. Then the guy coughed again and again.

"You fool what have you done. Now he'll never stop coughing!" the other brother said.

"Sorry about that," Asuma said scratching the back of his head.

"You'll pay for that!" the older brother threw a gas bomb which Asuma quickly caught and threw back at them and then they began to sneeze uncontrollably.

"How...achoo...strong...achoo! you are!" the eldest brother said, "We...achoo! Are no...achoo! Match...choo! for you. Achoo!" the noise woke several of the villagers up and they surrounded the area.

"There they are get them!" one shouted. The Haze Ninja tried to run but stumbled right into Asuma and sneezed and coughed all over the poor jonin.

"Get off of me!" Asuma shouted and threw them off of him into the wall.

"Please...cough...achoo! Show...mercy! Achoo! Our brother...cough! is just in...achoo! love!" Asuma just looked slightly annoyed at them, "You guys are hardly worth the trouble. I'll let the villagers take care of you."

"But...achoo!...we don't have the...achoo! antidotes to our...achoo! poisons."

"Man you guys are idiots. Just arrest them and make sure they get medical attention," Asuma said, "But only if they tell us where they took the jewelry."

"Over...achoo...by the...achoo...river...choo! bridge"

"Great!" Asuma said and rushed by there and saw a sack underneath the bridge. He took it and returned to the village. "Here they are!" he said and opened the sack where hundreds of various diamond rings shone in the moonlight.

"This looks like enough for all of them," one of the villagers said.

"Great job!" another said.

"Can I look through these?" Asuma said.

"What? Why?" someone asked.

"I was on my way here to find a ring for my girlfriend anyways."

"Well I'm sorry, but we have to sort out which rings go to which store and that could take days. You could always come back?" another suggested. Asuma took another peek in the sack. The rings that were visible from his angle didn't look that special.

"Nah, that's okay," Asuma said, "I'll just have to go somewhere else."

"Try the Rock village. We import the more expensive ones from there. I'm sure you'll find the best kind there. Consider that exclusive information payment for getting our supply back."

"Okay thanks. I'll head there first thing in the morning," Asuma replied, _"The Rock Village...makes sense...but I'll have to cross a lot of turf before arriving there. I could get into a lot of trouble, but then again," _he grinned to himself, _"Tsunade-sama __did__ say this was an A-class mission..."_

(A/N: Well that's it for this chapter. I hope you liked it and that you'll look forward to the next chapter. What kind of mess will Asuma get into next time as he travels to the Rock Village?)


	3. Trouble on the Road

Chapter 3—Trouble on the Road

(A/N: Sorry for the long wait. My only excuses are that I wanted to update another story first but I already know I won't be able to update the other story for two more weeks at the latest so I decided to get this one another chapter instead of waiting even longer than two weeks to do so. I hope you all like this one)

(Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters nor do I own the characters that the enemies in this chapter are based on. I also looked at several versions of the Naruto world map to make sure I got the geography right.)

Asuma woke up and found that the morning was a lot quieter than last night was. After getting a quick breakfast, he decided to head to the Rock Village immediately and try to get there as soon as possible. In order to reach the Rock Village in the Land of Earth, which was northwest of the Land of Fire, the best route would involve walking along the border in between the Grass and Waterfall countries. Fortunately Konoha didn't have any problems with those two lands recently, so Asuma figured this would be a nice trip. As he left the village he saw the Haze Ninja picking up roadside trash under the supervision of several villagers, "Work hard you three," Asuma glared at them.

"Okay okay," they all bowed quickly but the villagers kicked them in the back.

"Get back to work you thieves! You're doing community service until we're satisfied you won't do this again!" one of the villagers said…yep they had this under control. Once he was away from the small village he began to ninja leap across the tree branches to make better time. Asuma encountered no problems up to the triple point at which the borders between the Land of Fire, the Land of Grass and Land of Waterfalls connected. Then the jonin looked around to be on the safe side and sensing no trouble, continued on his journey, walking the borderline between Grass and Waterfalls. This part of the trip wouldn't take too long and he would be in the Land of Earth with time to spare to reach the Rock Village before nightfall. However when he was halfway along the borderline, all of a sudden a spiked log came at him from above the trees. He leapt away just in time but when he landed on the ground, it gave way to a hidden pit trap and he fell into it.

"All right, who's the wise guy who put that hole there?" Asuma asked out loud as he got up, rubbing his sore butt, "You've got a lot of nerve starting trouble with me!" he tried to jump his way out but then the top of the hole quickly seemed to "grow" a grating that he smashed his head against before landing on the ground.

"Whew he almost got out of there," a deep masculine voice said.

"Let's see what we've caught this time," a serious sounding feminine voice added.

"Pepelu hopes he's worth more than the last one," another female voice said, this one sounding young and energetic, "Pepelu worked hard on those traps."

"Well only one way to find out," A fourth voice, this one was male and sounding very confident. They all peeked into the trap as Asuma got himself back up.

"Who the heck are these guys? That technique to make the grating appear looks like the style of Rock Village. Are they trying to start something?"

"Hey just to make sure he doesn't try to hurt himself again…" the first female voice said, "Ninja Art! Waterfall Jutsu!" all of a sudden a stream of water appeared above the trap and a torrent came down, filling the trap quickly. Asuma held his breath but it stopped a foot shy of reaching the top. Asuma looked surprised at first, but then thought that they probably wanted him alive. With those techniques it looked like someone from Rock and someone from either Mist or Waterfall were teaming up to capture him…but why?

"Well well, according to the Bingo Book, this man is Sarutobi Asuma! We've hit the jackpot guys!" the woman who unleashed the waterfall said.

"Great we're going to eat like kings!" the confident voice said.

"Is food all you think about?" the deep voice said.

"Pepelu will eat like a princess. Princess!"

"Alright, I'll bite," Asuma said, "Who the heck are you guys?"

The four enemies came out of the shadows, "Well I think it will bring us some real prestige if the world knew who captured the great Sarutobi Asuma!" the confident voice said, "Call me Red Dragon." Now that Asuma got a good look, the man had reddish brown eyes and dark green shaggy hair and was wearing dark blue ninja gear.

"And I am simply known as Black Dog," the deep voice said. This man was bald with thick sideburns and a beard but no mustache. He looked like he's seen some serious battle with the few scars on his face and the obviously prosthetic arm. He also wore dark blue ninja gear

"Hi there, I'm Romany," the older female smiled down at him. She was rather attractive, with dark violet hair and green eyes. She was wearing sandals, fishnet stockings, and a yellow kunoichi's outfit that accented the right curves with a red vest over it.

"And Pepelu is Radical Pepelu!" the young one said eagerly. She looked to be no more than 12 years old, and definitely not wearing your standard ninja outfit, but shorts and a white T-shirt and had goggles instead of a headband.

Asuma was trying to figure out which villages they represented but the code names and different techniques they demonstrated made it difficult. Then he saw their headbands, the symbols on them looked like the Japanese symbol for Yen (¥). Then he realized what kind of trouble he was in, "So the rumors are true…" he sighed to himself, "Bounty Hunter Ninja."

"Ah yes I was wondering when we would be noticed," Red Dragon said.

"Yes there was a rumor of various ninja who betrayed and left their respective villages and decided to use their skills to make themselves money by capturing ninja with high bounties on their heads and selling them the highest bidding village," Asuma said, "Your kind disgusts me!"

"How can you be disgusted with me?" Romany said, "Aren't I the most beautiful woman you have ever seen?" she asked seductively.

"Sorry, I already have the most beautiful woman in my life and she's much better looking and better sounding than you," Asuma grinned.

"Why you, I ought to let you drown in there!" Romany said.

"Now now, he wont' be worth as much to us dead," Red Dragon said trying to calm his friend down while Pepelu and Black Dog tried to contain their laughter.

"You've got the highest bounty on your head out of all of Konoha's elite. Don't worry we wouldn't let you die," Black Dog said, "Of course whoever buys you off of us can do whatever the heck they want to you, we don't care," he laughed darkly.

"I've got to get out of here," Asuma said to himself, then to his enemies, "Let's see if your trap can really hold me in!" The jonin held his breath and dived in underwater, then drew his trench knives and charged them with chakra. He then sprang out of the water like a rocket, his blades allowing him to cut through the grating and into the air before landing on the ground again.

"Well this is interesting," Red Dragon said, "I'd be disappointed if you couldn't find a way out of that anyways. For the price on your head, you should be an interesting challenge," the enemy rushed at Asuma with a series of fast and high powered kicks. Asuma managed to block most of them and he slashed back at the Bounty Hunter Ninja with his blades but apparently this Red Dragon was fast and very good at taijutsu, easily getting away from Asuma's attack. Asuma looked to the left and right and saw that both Romany and Black Dog were heading towards him from either side, so he leapt back a few meters but then found himself surrounded by a circle of paper bombs.

"What the…"

"'Splodey tags go BOOM!" Pepelu laughed and waved her arms in the air as they all exploded around him.

"Pepelu we want him alive you dolt!" Romany shouted.

"He's fine. Pepelu knows not to hurt him too bad." the young ninja pointed up at a tree where Asuma was hanging, covered in soot and his vest was ruined as well as the arms and legs of his ninja outfit. He had first degree burns on his face, arms, and legs, and his hair was smoking.

"Almost bought it there," he admitted to himself, "That would've been a very bad way to go." It wasn't over yet as Black Dog punched the tree with his prosthetic arm.

"Earth Style, Rock Fist Jutsu!" All of a sudden, Black Dog's fist grew as large as Akamichi Choza's would have in his Expansion Jutsu by absorbing the earth around him and he punched again knocking down the tree with Asuma still in it to the ground. The jonin got up to his feet, blades ready but blades are no good against a small river that came out of nowhere.

"Bet you wish you didn't insult me huh pretty boy!" Romany smirked. When the water cleared, Asuma got up on his hands and knees, coughing out some water.

"Well at least that helped with the burns I got," he muttered, but then his eyes widened as he saw Red Dragon leap at him with a flying kick. Asuma dropped to the ground again and rolled away from his enemy's punch, then countered with a leg sweep, followed by an uppercut that got Asuma back on his feet. Red Dragon dodged the sweep but took the punch right in the chin.

"You're pretty good," Asuma admitted getting into a fighting stance and ripping off his ruined vest to get better movement.

"You better be better than that or I'll get bored really quick," Red Dragon countered and threw a series of rapid punches and kicks. Asuma blocked the punches, but took the kicks to the side. The jonin then rolled to the side as Red Dragon kicked again then Asuma tried to punch him in the neck with his trench knives but the enemy ducked just in time and punched Asuma in the stomach, then leapt away as the jonin got to his feet. Asuma leapt once again to the trees and tried to get away, knowing he was outnumbered, but Pepelu was there waiting for him.

"You can't get away from us, so don't even try," she grinned and pulled a wire causing two large logs with spikes to swing at Asuma. He jumped down to the ground to dodge her attack, but another torrent came at him.

"This time the water won't just go away!" Romany grinned and soon an area the size of an Olympic pool was filled with water with walls of chakra holding it in. Asuma reached the surface of this new trap and looked down at his enemies.

"Let's see how he does now. Are you two ready," Red Dragon grinned. He as well as Black Dog and Romany bit their thumbs until they drew a drop of blood then pressed them into the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!" All three shouted. Three summoning circles appeared at the edge of the water wall and each one had a large type of fish emerge and immediately leap into the pool. Red Dragon's summon was a large swordfish, Black Dog's was a hammerhead shark, and Romany's was a giant red-tailed catfish. Fortunately the trees were still in the water and Asuma was using them and the branches to hide while holding his breath.

"Don't worry," Romany smiled, "My Red Tail can sniff out anyone who's trapped in my water arena. She'll lead the Swordfish and Hammerhead straight to you Sarutobi Asuma! Your bounty is as good as ours!"

(A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. When Tsunade assigned this quest to Asuma as an A-class mission, he took it as a joke, but it looks like it's living up to that difficulty level. How will he get out of this one? Also bonus points to anyone who knows the reference I used for these new enemies! I hope you look forward to the next chapter.)


	4. Aquatic Tactics

Chapter 4—Aquatic Tactics

(A/N: Well only one person reviewed so only one person gets bonus points…MysticFireBlood. As a result she got to request something to happen in this chapter and I was able to oblige and work it in. I also had to up the rating on this story due to the upped violence level and language. Anyways I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter)

(Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or it's characters. I sort of own the villains in this chapter but not really, they're based off of Cowboy Bebop characters.)

Asuma was starting to lose the breath he held while in the giant water prison inside this forest. To top it all off, three dangerous fish-based summonings were after him. The Red Tail was using its feelers to sniff him out literally and was soon rushing after him. Asuma decided to spring off the branch he was sitting on and rocket out of the water to catch his breath. As he jumped above the surface, the Swordfish jumped out of the water at the same time and slashed at him rapidly with its sword-like upper jaw. Asuma blocked its attacks with his trench knives, both he and the Swordfish moving like blurs. The jonin then delivered a swift kick to his opponent's underbelly and it countered with a tail slap before diving back into the water, sending Asuma flying as the Hammerhead leapt out of the water, all its teeth bared. Asuma's eyes widened and he drew a kunai as the shark tried to bite down on his hand, he used the kunai to force its mouth to stay open and moved away but his arm scraped against the Hammerhead's skin, its scales like miniature teeth of their own, which ripped at his arm, causing the ninja excruciating pain. He almost forgot to take a breath before falling into the water again. Asuma then found himself another branch on to rest before he had to surface again.

"_Okay Asuma, think!" _he mentally shouted to himself, _"This isn't good, with me bleeding like this, it'll be easier for those predatory fish to sniff me out…" _as he thought this, the Red Tail found him again and rammed him off of his hiding spot where the Swordfish was waiting. Asuma barely blocked the Swordfish's slash and this time the jonin put all of his strength in his parry to make sure the Swordfish didn't counterattack. He took a chance to look around and saw that the Hammerhead was thrashing around, trying to get the kunai out of its mouth, _"Okay it's not a threat right now," _Asuma thought as the Swordfish slapped him with its tail and moved away from Asuma to attack again. This time the Red Tail rammed him in the back towards the Swordfish's rapidly slashing upper jaw blade. Asuma took a few hits before grappling the large fish and wrapping his body around it.

"Heh that won't work," Red Dragon said watching the jonin struggle.

"He should just give up," Black Dog noted.

"Well he took care of your Hammerhead good enough," Romany pointed out.

"Don't worry he's gonna figure it out, he's smarter than the average shark you know."

The Swordfish was thrashing about with Asuma holding on for dear life. The Red Tail didn't dare get close to help because it was afraid of being injured in the process. Asuma dug his trench knives into the Swordfish's hide to make sure he wouldn't be dropped so easily. The Swordfish swam quickly towards one of the submerged trees and tried to slam the jonin against it. When he didn't let go, the Swordfish slammed him again and again, causing Asuma to have trouble holding his breath. Having no choice, the jonin released his trench knives from the Swordfish's skin just before it slammed against the tree again causing the big fish to knock itself hard on the back and momentarily dazing it. Asuma then sprung off of the tree and surfaced again, this time concentrating his chakra on his feet so he could stand and move on the surface and more importantly let him catch his breath. His arm was still bleeding and several drops of blood dripped into the water.

"Don't think staying up there will do you any good!" Romany shouted at Asuma. The jonin took a look at her and her two companions…_ "Wait…there's two things bothering me..." _he thought as meanwhile, the Swordfish swam down and used his upper jaw to dislodge the kunai from the Hammerhead's mouth. The Red Tail swam up rapidly and leapt above the surface and tried to use its body weight to force Asuma back underwater, but the Jonin was able to dodge, _"…Where is the fourth member of their group?"_ Just then he noticed small shadows near his own, but they weren't coming from below…they were coming from above _"Oh crap!"_

"Bombs away!" Pepplu shouted as she threw several senbon above Asuma, popping the ballons that were above him, dropping several bombs towards the jonin. Not seeing any other way out, Asuma released the chakra from his feet and deliberately dropped underwater while the bombs exploded. However the Swordfish and Hammerhead were coming at him from opposite sides. _"Time to see if this works underwater! Flying Swallow!" _His trench knives were enveloped in a blade of chakra, each about the length of a short sword. He spun around rapidly, slashing both of his opponents and raised his arms to above his head, making him seem like a propeller shooting through the water. He surfaced again, and charged his feet with chakra, then noted his true enemies that were safely out of the battle.

"Aww come on, he's got to tire out soon!" Romany shouted.

"Be patient. They're not done yet," Red Dragon said pointing at Romany's Red Tail which came at Asuma, its mouth wide open. The jonin tried to jump but the fish was faster and soon he was waist deep in fish mouth and being dragged back into the water.

"_Damn fish!.." _Asuma mentally shouted driving his trench knives into its sides, but the Red Tail was stubborn and not letting go, _"I'm not going out like this, being dragged down into a small lake in the middle of a forest…that's it! There's more to this than I thought…I need to find it though…" _Asuma thought and then calming down, looked around the bottom of the pool where it looked as if a figure was just outside but it was hard to get a good look at it due to the water's distorting effect, _"I only have one shot at this!" _in desperation, the jonin threw a kunai at where the figure should be, accounting for the image being refracted by water and soon he heard a small splash, _"Now to hang on for the ride of my life!" _It seemed whatever Asuma had hit caused this large pool of water, held only by chakra, to collapse.

"Whoa move!" Red Dragon said to his companions. They all leapt to the highest tree branch they could find as the water spilled out rapidly in all directions, flooding the immediate area. When the water was finished spreading out, it was only half a foot deep, definitely not deep enough for the fish summonings to breathe and they splashed around a bit before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Where the hell'd he go!" Red Dragon shouted.

"Right where Red Tail disappeared," Romany pointed at the jonin getting back to his feet, laughing lightly, "How the hell did you dispel my Water Arena Jutsu!" she demanded.

"I admit, fighting off those summonings distracted me enough to not think about it for a while," Asuma explained, "but your Water Arena Jutsu is just an enlarged and modified version of the Water Prison Jutsu. That kind of jutsu requires the user to have constant contact with the wall of water and then I remembered when you summoned your Red Tail…both of your hands were free at the time, so you must've snuck in a water clone while I wasn't looking to hold your Water Arena Jutsu intact while you summoned your Red Tail. So the simple solution to getting out of that mess was to dispel the Water Arena Jutsu by destroying the water clone," he said proudly, then got in a fighting stance his blades charged with a little chakra, "And now it's time to take care of you."

Romany's face turned red with Rage while Red Dragon laughed, "I have to admit, you really have earned your high bounty. You're the first to figure out our strategy, but look at you, you're too tired to take us all on. You used up most of your chakra fighting and staying on the surface of the water arena. Just surrender."

"Not going to happen…Flying Swallow!" Asuma's chakra blades extended again, _"Got to finish this fast!"_ and he rushed at Red Dragon, but was blocked by Black Dog.

"Didn't forget about me!" he said, "Earth Style! Rock Fist Jutsu!" the evil ninja's arm was once again enveloped in an armor of rock and his "fist" was the size of a boulder which he slammed into Asuma, sending him flying a few feet and causing his Flying Swallow to dispel.

"Just stay out of this Romany! You used up about as much chakra as he did," Red Dragon advised, "Some good old fashioned taijutsu from me should be able to finish this!" As the Bounty Hunter Ninja ran towards Asuma, the jonin got up and prepared to defend himself but he noticed a green blur heading for his opponent.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" a powerful kick was delivered to Red Dragon's head and he was sent hurling into the direction of a tree. The enemy ninja barely was able to move his body so it wouldn't hit the hard trunk.

"Guy?" Asuma asked wondering if his friend was really there. The taijutsu master looked back at Asuma and flashed him the Nice Guy Pose.

"Don't tell me you're letting guys like these beat you Asuma?! Where's your youthful spirit?"

"They're tougher than they look," Asuma said, getting back on his feet, "Or did you miss the past few minutes?"

"Nope we saw what was going on and were about to make our move but we thought you had it handled when you got rid of that water jutsu," Guy admitted.

"We?" Asuma asked, just as Black Dog rushed at them, his Rock Fist Jutsu still active, but a huge dragon-shaped torrent of water came from seemingly nowhere and knocked Black Dog away from the two jonin.

"That's right. We." Kakashi smiled under his mask, from one of the treetops, his Sharingan eye uncovered. He jumped down to join his friends, "So are these guys who I think they are?"

"They're the Bounty Hunter Ninja," Asuma said.

"Thought so," Kakashi replied.

"Who are they?" Guy asked.

"Scum who capture ninja from any village and offer them to the highest-bidding enemy village of that ninja," Asuma explained, "They're completely devoted to using their talents for greed."

"Where'd you learn that water jutsu?!" Romany demanded of Kakashi.

"Oh…you can thank Momochi Zabuza for that. He sort of…taught me," Kakashi smiled.

"Oh no, that eye…you're the Copy Ninja…Hatake Kakashi!" Romany replied.

"Thaaaaat's right," Kakashi smiled at her, "Do you want to give up now?"

"Are you kidding, your bounty's pretty damn high too!" she grinned back as her other two companions came back and finally joined by Pepplu.

"And the other…he's Might Guy. He's definitely worth a nice chunk of change," Red Dragon said.

"We're about to hit the jackpot with a triple bonus. It's four on three, with one of them fatigued. I think we can do this," Black Dog said.

"Yay! Pepplu gets to play again!" Pepplu smiled happily. All of the Bounty Hunter Ninjas scattered and began to attack the Konoha jonin…

(A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed that battle. Having Guy and Kakashi show up was MysticFireBlood's request and as you can see it'll work out to Asuma's advantage to have backup against these guys. Also thanks to Narutopedia for having Asuma's techniques listed. I haven't seen much of him fighting in the series yet and wanted to know what he had at his disposal. Honestly I was hoping to finish this battle this chapter, but it looks like it'll take one more to do it…I don't mind though. More action for my readers. Please leave me a review to let me know what you think.)


	5. Comrades in Arms

Chapter 5—Comrades in Arms

(A/N: Sorry this one took a bit longer than I thought, but I had a bit of writers block until recently. Anyways this chapter is extra long to make up for the wait. I hope you enjoy. Special thanks to MysticFireBlood for helping me title this chapter.)

(Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters. I sort of own the villains in this chapter but not really, they're based off of Cowboy Bebop characters.)

Black Dog rushed into Asuma, knocking him into a tree. Normally the jonin could've stopped such a simple attack but he was already exhausted from the earlier part of the battle. Kakashi and Guy moved to help him, but then they were separated by a powerful wall of water.

"Sorry boys, but that's a one-on-one fight," Romany smiled evilly at them. Kakashi and Guy got in fighting stances and then Red Dragon came at Guy with his own flying kick, but Guy ducked and countered with an uppercut.

"If you think you can outdo my Dynamic Entry, you're 100 years too early to even try!"

"Just wanted to see if you were paying attention," Red Dragon said rushing at Guy with a quick series of punches and kicks which the taijutsu master easily was able to deal with.

"If this is all you've got, then you'll just be good for a warm up," Guy said.

"Funny I was about to say the same about you!" Red Dragon did a series of quick spinning kicks that Guy had to raise his arms to block and the enemy ninja actually was able to jump out of the way from the jonin's counterattack.

XXX

"It looks like it's just you and me handsome," Romany said to Kakashi, "But get rid of the mask, the mysterious figure is so old and tired."

"Aww…but I really like the mask," Kakashi replied, "And it really does bring out my charisma."

"Too bad we're gonna sell you. I can think of some fun we could have," Romany grinned as she made some hand signs.

"I'm having fun right now," Kakashi replied making the same hand signs, "Been a while since I had such a lovely lady for an opponent."

"Water Style! Liquid Bullet!" both fighters called out near simultaneously. Their cheeks swelled with water and spewed out large water drops at high speed at each other, however Kakashi's mask got in the way and not only was it torn, but it threw off the aim of the bullet and Romany's hit him square in the chest, but as he fell, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What the?" Romany looked around for the Konoha jonin and suddenly several Kakashis surrounded her, "Oh nuts…Shadow Clone Jutsu. Whatever shall I do?" she said almost mockingly as the Kakashis drew kunai and threw them at her simultaneously but they all appeared to go right through her and striked each other and they all disappeared in a puff of smoke as Romany disappeared in a splash of water.

"So it's Shadow Clones vs. Water Clones," the real Kakashi noted, hiding in the trees to scan around to find his opponent, but he noticed the area surrounding where Romany once stood was now covered in a thick mist and it was spreading, "Now it's the Hidden Mist Jutsu…so the question remains…where did you go?" He thought it over for a moment and jumped right towards where the mist was as a water dragon jutsu tore through his previous hiding spot.

"Damn almost had him!" Romany said frustrated.

"_The best place to hide is where I was supposed to think you were hiding,"_ Kakashi thought to himself, but then he saw several paper bombs lining the area that were about to go off. He barely jumped out of the way as they exploded, but his legs still got singed and the explosion caused a severe ringing in his ears.

"'Splodey tags go BOOM again!" Pepplu laughed at Kakashi.

XXX

"Face it Sarutobi Asuma, you're through!" Black Dog said. After he knocked Asuma into the tree, he used his Rock Fist Jutsu to encase his hand and he punched the jonin several times in the chest and let him drop to the ground, "I think it's safe to make sure you don't go anywhere…Earth Style! Headhunter Jutsu!" Before Asuma could get back on his feet, Black Dog seemed to disappear and then a large muscular hand bursted from the ground and pulled the jonin down underground until only his head was visible, "That outta hold you!" Black Dog looked down at Asuma and laughed, "Bet you wish you never messed with us! How does it feel to be defeated?" Asuma turned his head away from Black Dog and muttered something under his breath. His enemy only laughed more. He bent down and got closer to Asuma, "What was that? I didn't quite hear you? Are you admitting defeat? Come on, you can say it. I promise not to tell your friends." Asuma muttered again and Black Dog scooted a little closer, "One more chance buddy. Admit I'm superior to you and I promise to go easy on you until we sell you off." Asuma grinned at him now that he was close enough.

"Fire Style! Burning Ash Product!" Asuma shouted and then spewed out a cloud of superheated ash at Black Dog which covered his entire body. The enemy ninja screamed out in extreme pain as his entire body felt like it was on fire and he was becoming covered in third-degree burns. He tried rolling on the ground but it was no use. "You've suffered enough," Asuma said softly when Black Dog was far enough away. The jonin clicked his teeth causing the ash cloud to explode all around his enemy, killing him much faster and with less pain than burning to death in the cloud, "Now all I have to do is wait for Kakashi to get me out of here…"

XXX

"Come on! Show me the strength of the legendary 'Green Beast'" Red Dragon said, trying to egg Guy on and as he said this, unleashed a series of quick and powerful kicks to the Jonin.

"You're pretty skilled," Guy admitted, "But good will always triumph over evil!" he said dramatically, blocking the kicks by raising his arms, and countering with a powerful kick of his own, but his enemy jumped up above Guy's counterattack and delivered a swift kick to the side of his head, disorienting the Jonin and then Red Dragon landed and punched him hard enough to force him to lean against a thick tree trunk and then Red Dragon continued his attack with another series of rapid kicks with one foot to Guy's chest, then did a spin kick with that foot allowing him to switch which foot was kicking and which he was standing on.

"I've had enough," Guy said catching Red Dragon's foot with his hand and looking at him with a much more serious expression before twisting his enemy's foot, knocking him towards the ground but instead he met Guy's knee halfway and Red Dragon went flying a few meters away. Then Guy sprung off the side of the tree and did a spinning double punch to Red Dragon sending him even further away. Guy's enemy wasn't discouraged however, this challenge only made him more determined to defeat him.

"You've had enough already? Too bad, I was enjoying the challenge," Red Dragon said.

"You're only good for a warm-up. Come back after training a few years and maybe you'll be a challenge," Guy replied sincerely.

"Oh you don't get it do you? I'm a Bounty Hunter Ninja. If I go all out, I may accidentally kill my mark and then they wouldn't be worth as much as if I captured them alive. But against you, I think I can go all out…" then he got in a pose very familiar to Guy, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No way!" Guy said in surprise.

"First Gate: Gate of Opening! Second Gate: Gate of Rest! Third Gate: Gate of Life! OPEN!" Red Dragon's skin turned a deep red due to the effect of opening the Third Gate. Also he instantly recovered from the injuries he was dealt earlier, "Now you know why they call me Red Dragon!" the Bounty Hunter made a motion as if he was ready to move and then disappeared. All Guy could do was hold his arms up defensively to attempt to block, but he knew that it probably wouldn't do much good as he was overwhelmed with rapid physical attacks that the Jonin couldn't see and was even launched into the air several feet and was allowed to plummet to the ground.

"So…you learned how to open…at least three gates…how?" Guy said, "The Eight Gates are a secret Taijutsu that few even know about, let alone master."

"Believe it or not, self taught. I'm just that good," Red Dragon said arrogantly.

"I admit you took me by surprise, but I have something up my sleeve as well," Guy also crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh no you don't!" Red Dragon resumed his attack on Guy, determined to stop him from opening the Gates himself, but Guy ignored the pain and damage to his body as this was his only chance.

First Gate: Gate of Opening! Second Gate: Gate of Rest! Third Gate: Gate of Life! Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain! Fifth Gate: Gate of Limit! OPEN!" Guy's chakra erupted and not only was his skin turned red, but he was surrounded by a visible aura of chakra that knocked Red Dragon away.

"No way! You can open more than three Gates?" Red Dragon said, very much worried now.

"Now to teach you what a _true_ Taijutsu master can do! So pay attention cause if you blink you're gonna miss it!" Guy said and then vanished from Red Dragon's sight. He caught a flicker of Guy's image before feeling a strong kick that launched him high in the air above the tree line.

"Where'd he go?" Red Dragon asked.

"Behind you!" Guy replied, "I call this one Dancing Leaf Shadow!" He delivered a strong punch that sent him flying away but Guy was even faster than his helpless opponent and kicked him back in another direction and then increased the frequency of his attack, constantly juggling his enemy in the air and moving so fast Red Dragon couldn't see where his opponent was and then he was finally grabbed from above by Guy and held so tight, Red Dragon's arms and some ribs broke as they both spun and plummeted towards the ground, "PRIMARY LOTUS!" Guy leapt away as Red Dragon crashed into the ground head first. After Guy landed safely he was forced to the ground by the shear exhaustion of using the Fifth Gate but he looked over at Red Dragon's unconscious body surrounded by water and mud and he felt the ground with his own hands, "I forgot…" Guy said to himself then looked at his downed enemy, "You're lucky the ground got saturated by your friend's earlier move. You're not dead, but every bone in your body is probably broken. I don't think you'll trouble anyone again," he wanted to go and check on his friends but knew that he'd be a hindrance at this point so he stayed where he was and waited...

XXX

"Alright Kakashi, I know you're still alive, so come on out. You heard that explosion and felt the ground shake just now. Your friends are probably finished so save yourself a world of hurt," Romany shouted out in the distance. She looked at Pepplu, "How far could he go."

"Not far Not far. We're surrounded by trap traps!" Pepplu said eagerly, "He'll trigger one don't worry." The two remaining Bounty Hunter Ninja split up and continued their search in silence and then Pepplu found a shadowy figure crouching on the ground, "Pepplu found it!" she shouted happily and approached it but when she got close she noticed…it was a scarecrow! Pepplu looked around for the real Kakashi but was dragged under the ground until only her head was visible, "Aww Noo! He got me!" she said sadly as Kakashi revealed himself from behind a tree, "And with Black Dog's trick too…"

"I've had that trick for a while actually. I didn't copy it from him. Anyways your traps were too much trouble to disable. Now stay there and behave yourself!" Kakashi scolded her as if she was one of his students and then turned around but found himself surrounded by Water Clones of Romany.

"I can't believe I got the drop on you," they all said at once performing hand signs, "Water Style! Rapid Liquid Bullets!" they all did the same hand signs as before and shot spherical water drops that were even smaller than her previous technique, but they were much more rapid and under higher pressure. Kakashi had to draw two kunai in an attempt to block the attacks by rapidly spinning them in his fingers and move his arms quickly to make sure they blocked the right ones.

"_If it wasn't for those paper bombs deafening me earlier…" _Kakashi grumbled to himself then jumped up into the air, a better position as all the Liquid Bullets were converging on one spot and then he was landing in front of the group of clones, "Time to finish this!" Kakashi drew out a scroll then pricked his finger with his kunai and drew a line of blood in the scroll as he unwrapped it, "Summoning Earth Style! Fang Pursuit Jutsu!" He placed the scroll in the ground and several seals formed around it. The water clones looked worried for a moment but when nothing happened they laughed and then prepared to attack again, "I don't have to worry about you anymore," he said simply pointing in a direction to the right of the clones which caused them to hesitate in their attack as they saw the true Romany completely caught and unable to move as Kakashi's eight Nindogs literally dog piled on her and grabbed her arms and legs in their mouths making it impossible for her to move or make hand signs, "Thanks to your friend earlier it was hard for me to find you by hearing and I knew you were too good to be spotted so I had my friends here sniff you out. It's over."

"What…no…" Romany had a look of panic on her face as Kakashi made a few quick hand signs and soon a circle of chakra surrounded him and his right hand took energy from it which caused it to glow blue and electricity was sparkling from it.

"This is my Lightning Blade. Give up now because I honestly can't hold back with a technique like this."

"What are you clones waiting for? Kill him!" Kakashi quickly ran at the real Romany, too fast for her Water Clones to target him and the Nindogs jumped away form her as Kakashi jabbed his hand completely through her chest, the electricity dispersing from his hand which protruded from her back. Her eyes widened in shock and she coughed out a large amount of blood as Kakashi pulled his arm out.

"Why didn't you surrender?" he asked sadly. Unfortunately any response she could make was gagged by her own blood as she fell to the ground and took her last breath. He then walked over to find his two friends. Guy was still on the ground next to the unconscious Red Dragon and Kakashi helped Guy to his feet.

"He must've been harder than you thought."

"Yeah, but if he gets medical attention he'll survive, but he won't cause trouble anymore, I'm pretty sure of it. Anyways we need to find Asuma."

"You're right," Guy nodded and the two of them looked towards where they heard the explosion from his technique and found the charred body of Black Dog.

"Wow, Asuma had to resort to _that,"_ Kakashi said, "But where is he?"

"I don't see him," Guy said in worry but then hit something hard and tripped, "Darn rock!"

"What rock?" Asuma asked, "That's my head you baka!"

Kakashi looked down at Asuma and chuckled a bit and then Guy couldn't contain his own laughter and his happy tears that his friend was okay.

"Will you two quit laughing and get me out of here?!" Asuma shouted annoyed.

(A/N: Well that was a fun battle to write out. I hope you all enjoy it. Next chapter Asuma gets back on track to what he was _really_ supposed to do. The big question is, will Kakashi and Guy help him…or poke fun at him. Please leave me your reviews to tell me what you think.)


	6. Heading to Iwagakure

Chapter 6—Heading to Iwagakure

(A/N: Sorry this one took so long. I don't have access to a computer as often as I would like to these days so my fanfic writing has slowed down a bit sadly...I don't anticipate this situation changing until the beginning of next year probably so my updates will be sporadic. I hope that the readers who like this story can be patient between updates and I will try to do them as often as possible. Also, since I haven't seen anything dealing with the Rock Village/Iwagakure, my descriptions are completely from my imagination but it would be what I think a group of mountain-loving ninja would have as a home. Thanks to KrillinFan, MysticFireBlood, and Green Gallant for their nice reviews.)

(Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters. I sort of own the villains in the beginning of this chapter but not really, they're based off of Cowboy Bebop characters.)

"Ready...on three....one two THREE!" Kakashi and Guy pulled as hard as they could on Asuma's head.

"Ouch, watch the hair Kakashi! Watch the ears Guy! I thought you knew this jutsu Kakashi...can't you find some easier way to get me out of here!" Asuma shouted.

"I guess...but you're not gonna like it..." Kakashi said in a singsong voice and then vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Where'd he go?" Guy and Asuma tried to look around and then Asuma felt something hit his posterior...hard. The jonin shouted as he was launched out of the ground into the air, the ground surrounding him broken apart.

"Oh...1000 Years of Death," Guy grinned as Kakashi emerged from the ground, grinning under his mask and scratching his head, "That'll get a guy moving." Asuma landed on the ground and rubbed his butt.

"I'm gonna get you for this someday Kakashi!" Asuma said, but then looked around and saw that Pepplu was in the same situation that Asuma was in a moment ago, "What're we going to do with her?"

"She's just a child, don't do it Kakashi!" Guy said overdramatically.

"It's either that or pull hard on her head and either doesn't sound like fun," Asuma said. Kakashi disappeared again and they soon heard a high pitch squeal as Pepplu was launched in the air as well.

"This way was faster," Kakashi claimed. When she came down, they brought Pepplu towards the unconscious and broken body of Red Dragon, "He's still alive but he won't ever be able to fight again. I suggest you help him find medical attention then consider a career change. You're still young and have that chance."

"Oh...okay Pepplu will take care of Red Dragon from now on," she said sadly picking up her fallen partner and carrying him off.

"So now that that's over," Guy said turning to Asuma, "What the heck are you doing way out here anyways?"

"I'm on a mission to go to the Iwa," Asuma said.

"What a coincidence, Guy and I are also," Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"Well before we continue, do you have a spare outfit on you, mine got torn up pretty badly in that battle," Asuma pointed out.

"You can try, but you're somewhat taller and wider than both of us," Kakashi pointed out, "Our spare clothes may not fit you."

"Nonsense!" Guy shouted and reached into his pack to break out a spare set of his favorite green spandex.

"On second thought, that's not necessary," Asuma said hitting his forehead.

"Trust me it'll work!" Guy said, "And I'm taller than Kakashi, my gear is more likely to fit you than his."

"But I...um...don't want to steal your look," Asuma said, but in his head he thought, _"I wouldn't be caught dead in that get up." _Out loud he said, "Come on Kakashi, help a guy out."

"Oh but Guy is right," Kakashi smirked under his mask, "Besides this'll teach you to be better prepared on a mission."

"It wasn't supposed to be this complicated!" Asuma exclaimed.

"A true shinobi is always prepared for complications," Guy grinned and handed him his spare spandex, Kakashi also grinned at Asuma and even did one of Guy's Nice Guy Poses

Asuma grumbled and got behind the bushes to change, _"That's two I owe you Kakashi,"_ he thought with a sour look. When he was ready, he popped out of the bushes, and blended in perfectly to the greenery. Guy gave him a Nice Guy Pose and Kakashi was trying not to laugh.

"We should get moving," Guy said and took off ninja leaping and the other two jonin were not too far behind, Kakashi barely stifling his laughter

"This just isn't me," Asuma said.

"Wait till Kurenai sees you in this, she'll swoon for sure!" Guy said confidently.

"Sure she will," Kakashi laughed, "But we've got a mission to think about now too."

"What kind of mission?" Asuma asked.

"Representing Konoha in a friendly competition actually," Kakashi answered.

"I didn't know about it," Asuma said.

"It's something new they're starting just now and if it works out it will be an annual event," Guy said, "But we don't know what kind of competition they're having."

"Hence why Hokage-sama sent out two of her best," Kakashi said, "You still haven't told us why you're out here."

"Well I guess I can tell you...I'm on a 'mission' to find...the perfect engagement ring to give to Kurenai."

"All right Asuma!" Guy shouted, "The power of love and youth has triumphed!"

"Youth and love? You know only older people get married," Kakashi joked.

"Hey!" Asuma said, "Who's old?"

"You are. You know you're a year older than us," Guy said, "So do you feel your youth escaping?"

"Actually being in love makes me feel more youthful than ever. You better find someone to love Guy before _your_ youth escapes," Asuma teased back.

"Well with the guy to girl ratio in Konoha like it is, and with Guy's looks, that's not likely," Kakashi jibed.

"All right Kakashi. It's on now; the first one of us to get married gets one up on the other!" Guy said.

"You're on!" Kakashi said.

"You know if you do get married it shouldn't be because of some stupid bet," Asuma said, "It should be because you love the girl."

"Never knew you could be so mushy," Kakashi said, "Don't make a habit of it though, we've got reputations to uphold," he laughed.

"I'm only mushy around Kurenai or talking about her, so no worries," Asuma replied.

"All right we're almost there now," Guy said, looking up at the mountains.

"Almost...you underestimate how tough a climb that is," Kakashi said, "We've got to go up once we reach the base of the mountain and there's only one real trail to get there. It will be treacherous."

"Mountain climbing! A true test of one's mettle! I'll race you both!" Guy said excitedly and started to run at a ridiculous rate, a cloud of dust kicking up behind him as he took off.

"Are you going to let him 1-up you, Kakashi?" Asuma smirked.

"I just wanted to give him a head start," Kakashi replied before taking off himself and Asuma soon followed. Of course Guy's running only got him to the base of the mountain; the fun part was navigating that trail, just wide enough for people to travel single file. There were simple elevators but that was on a distant rock face for larger groups of people or supplies and it would've taken more time in the long run for the three jonin to take that way, so they took the "hard" way of navigating that trail. Guy was still in the lead but Kakashi was close behind and Asuma was further back, not really wanting to compete with his two friends. When they came close to the top of the summit however, Kakashi did a high jump over Guy to get in the lead and made a beeline for the village entrance.

"Hey!" Guy called and then chased after him. Asuma sped up as well, not wanting to be left behind. When they got close enough, Kakashi stopped in his tracks and the other two jonin stopped as well.

"I win," Kakashi smirked at Guy.

"Fine I'll get you on the way back," Guy said determinedly.

"Umm...are you the ninja from Konoha?" a guard asked looking them over.

"Yes we are. Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy, and Sarutobi Asuma," Kakashi introduced.

"We thought only two of you were coming."

"Actually," Asuma said, "I have different business here...a simple shopping trip," Asuma replied.

"Very well. We have free accommodations for the two of you who came at our invitation. I'm afraid that you, Asuma-san, will have to pay for a room."

"I understand," Asuma sighed.

"The competition and ceremonies doesn't start until tomorrow, so feel free to look around our village today," the other guard insisted.

"Thank you, we will," Guy smiled and gave them the Nice Guy Pose before walking behind his two companions.

"So any idea what this competition entails?" Asuma asked.

"No clue. Just that two ninja from each of the five major villages will be competing in some kind of athletic event," Kakashi replied. As they looked around, they noticed that almost half of the "buildings" in the village were really carved directly into the mountain and most of the others were also made of stone. There were large quartz crystals at the top of posts that looked like they could serve as street lamps as well.

"These guys sure know how to build a strong foundation," Guy commented, noticing the various apartments and businesses they came across. There was a central courtyard with tents set up for what looked like a bazaar.

"This could be what you're looking for, Asuma," Kakashi said, "We'll go to the inn and check in. You go ahead and find that ring you've been after."

"Thanks. I'll catch up as soon as I can," Asuma replied. When the two jonin left, Asuma approached the bazaar. There were several people there shopping and it got noisy as he got closer, the merchants shouting out there wares over the buzz of the crowd. Asuma finally heard the shout of a merchant that caught his interest.

"Get your fine jewelry here! The pride of Iwa is in our gems and rare metals. We have it all: Gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and many others! You'll not fine anything better in all the lands." Asuma quickly ran over to the vendor.

"Ah, what can I do for one of our noble visitors?" he asked with interest.

"I'm looking for a ring for my girlfriend. I want to marry her and I want her to have the perfect ring," Asuma said.

"Then your quest is over, honored customer! My rings are the best! I keep several on reserve for such an occasion," the vendor replied. He reached behind him and opened a safe and then pulled out a case with whole sets of wedding bands and engagement rings.

"The finest of Iwa's gold and diamonds make up these beauties. Looking at you sir, I can tell how much the woman means to you. Only a ring from _here_ would be worthy of her finger, trust me!" Asuma nodded and looked through the rings until he found one that truly stood out. It had a central diamond that shined brightly under the sunlight. The diamond was surrounded by smaller rubies, very deep crimson in color. The rubies reminded Asuma of his lover's deep red lips and red eyes that he found so attractive. The gold band looked like it had an opening to fit in the wedding band within it to make a larger ring. Plus the ring that came with it for the man was also 24 K gold and had two parallel strips of tiny diamonds running along it.

"This is it! This is the set I want!" Asuma shouted happily. The vendor grinned as well.

"You can have it of course...for 119,000 Ryo," he said.

"119,000?!" Asuma said in shock.

"Well you _did_ want the best for the lady didn't you? You didn't expect our _highest_ quality jewelry to be of the average price?" the vendor said.

"Well no, but..." Asuma thought about how much he had access to at the moment, "Makes me wish I turned myself in to those bounty hunters and walked off with their reward money," he muttered to himself.

"What was that?" the vendor asked.

"Never mind," Asuma replied.

"Well I can give you just the engagement ring for 95,000," he offered, "Of course if you'd rather get a more modest ring, and you do _look_ like one who's more likely to do so," he noted Asuma's current look, "I do have a decent selection, though I don't see what the problem is with the competition and all..."

"What does the competition have to do with this!?" Asuma demanded.

"Didn't you know before you got here?" the vendor replied, "If you win the competition, the Tsuchikage will grant you one request if it's within his power. Just win the competition and ask him to buy this ring set for you."

"Okay. Keep that set safe and thanks for the info," Asuma said.

"Of course I will. Good luck with the competition." With that Asuma walked to the inn where Guy and Kakashi were. He paid for a room near theirs to last the duration of the competition and then decided to go to his room later. He had to tell his friends about this predicament. He knocked on their door.

"Who's there?" Guy asked.

"It's Asuma."

"Ah come in," Guy replied. The door was opened and Asuma walked in to see his friends getting their gear settled.

"So how does it feel resembling the Green Beast of Konoha?" Guy asked with an eager smile.

"Umm...different," Asuma replied.

"How'd it go? Did you find Kurenai's ring?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes I did, but it's more expensive than I anticipated," Asuma replied.

"Alas the flame of love is suppressed!" Guy said sadly, waterfalls of tears running down his face.

"Is there anything you can do?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes I need a favor. I want to replace one of you in the competition."

"Ah yes, I heard that the Tsuchikage is granting the winner a request," Guy smiled.

"Well I'm willing to let you go in my place, but even if you do, we don't know what this competition is or if you'll win. You're taking a big chance Asuma," Kakashi said.

"Don't be a downer Kakashi!" Guy said, "Asuma's got the power of love on his side! He'll win no doubts about it! I'll be cheering you on the whole time even if we're forced to compete against each other!"

"You're sure about this?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes I am. It's for Kurenai after all."

"Okay then, it's settled, Kakashi said, "You'll compete in my place, just make sure you win like Guy says."

(A/N: Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave me some reviews to let me know what you thought. Just to let you know I did my research for this chapter and Asuma really is taller and more built than Kakashi and Guy. Also I found out about the currency in Naruto [Ryo] being equal to 10 Yen so I looked up the conversion factor and since 1 dollar is roughly 95 Yen, that means that 1 dollar is roughly 9.5 Ryo. Using that information, I figured a really expensive set of rings at $12,500 [I blame those Jared commercials] and just converted that to Ryo which came to be about 119,000 rounded to the nearest thousand. Enough with the math lesson, next chapter we find out what this competition that Iwa is holding is all about. Will Asuma be able to win it?)


	7. Ultimate Shinobi!

Chapter 7—Ulitmate Shinobi!

(A/N: Well everyone, this is my first update of the New Year. I hope everyone enjoys it. One of my resolutions is to update more often so I want to try to keep it, especially since I still have so many ideas on the back burner. Thanks for your patience in waiting for this one.)

(Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters. I'm also borrowing a concept from another fun Japanese show for this chapter so I hope you'll all enjoy.)

The next morning, Asuma, Kakashi, and Guy woke up at dawn to the sound of an exceptionally loud horn sounding throughout Iwagakure.

"Whoa that was loud!" Guy exclaimed.

Kakashi looked at his watch, "The ceremonies start in an hour and a half. We had better get ready."

"Alright then I just hope that they'll let me compete in your place Kakashi," Asuma said.

"I don't anticipate any problems," Kakashi replied.

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Guy pumped his fist in the air. About an hour later, all three jonin were ready to head out, Asuma still forced to wear Guy's spare outfit, much to Kakashi's laughter.

When they arrived, a huge crowd gathered and cheered as music was played throughout the area. The jonin tried to peek over the crowd and saw rather large tent but nothing to figure out what was in store for them. Then they saw the special entrance to the event and proceeded inside.

"Ah I see Konoha sends their best jonin for this game," a familiar voice said softly. They turned around and saw Gaara, accompanied by his brother Kankuro and Temari, the latter two smiling amicably.

"And Suna sends their best chunin," Asuma countered.

"Our students told us how much you three have improved. I look forward to seeing any new skills," Kakashi added with respect.

Guy however, cried waterfalls and approached Gaara faster than anyone could react and hugged him, "Thankyouforthattimeyousavedmypreciousstudent!" he said rather quickly. Everyone looked at this in wide-eyed shock, even Gaara couldn't hide his surprise.

"Umm…thank you…" he replied a little uncomfortably as the jonin backed off.

"Now that that's settled, I want you to know I won't be holding back just cause you're friends with Lee," Guy said giving him the Nice Guy Pose to which Gaara just sweat dropped.

"That's a nice gesture, but I'm not competing," Gaara replied, "Just Temari and Kankuro. I'm just here for…moral support," he even had a small smile when he said this.

"Heh quality family time," Kankuro grinned.

"I've scoped out the other competition. I don't recognize any of them," Temari said pointing out shinobi from Kiri (Mist), Iwa (Rock), and Kumo (Cloud), two each, all looking eager to begin whatever this competition was. Then the large horn sounded once again and the crowd cheered as the Tsuchikage revealed himself.

"Greetings everyone!" he said when the crowd quieted, "I bet you are all wondering why I have gathered the whole village as well as shinobi from each of the Five Great Villages. Well, now the truth will be revealed!" The tent was lifted off the ground by massive pulleys, revealing what was underneath…a massive obstacle course consisting of balance beams, water pits, towers, pendulums, and objects to which their function was hard to tell.

"Welcome all to the first annual Ultimate Shinobi Contest!" the Tsuchikage, "As our honored guests are aware, the winner of this contest will have the right to ask me one request and I will do all in my power to grant it. Now for the rules: There are three stages of obstacles and they were designed by my best trap making experts. There are ten people competing, but this course is designed to weed out all but the strongest. It is most likely that only one or two will make it to the final round."

"That course doesn't look _that_ tough," Kankuro shook his head.

"And now the most important rule," the Tsuchikage grinned holding a finger up, "Absolutely no jutsu or any other form of chakra manipulation will be allowed. No ninja tools either. You are to do this with just your pure physical abilities." This drew a collective gasp from those gathered, "We have specialist ninja in the judges who can spot chakra being used to prevent cheating which won't be tolerated. Also, each shinobi will compete individually while the others remain waiting behind closed doors so only the person competing and the spectators know what the course will be like."

"Okay maybe this'll be harder than I thought," Kankuro admitted.

"I still say we can do it," Temari smiled.

"That's the spirit. A course like this shouldn't be trouble at all!" Guy grinned, "It's perfect for me, a taijutsu user."

"Yeah but not all of us are as specialized as you," Asuma said.

"I guess this is why I'm not allowed to compete, my sand would react instinctively disqualifying me instantly," Gaara said.

"Speaking of," Temari said, taking her fan off her back, "Keep an eye on this for me, will you?" She asked smiling. She also nudged Kankuro.

"Uh…yeah…my puppets too please," Kankuro removed Crow and Black Ant from his back, "This should be interesting. I'm used to having them do the legwork for me," he joked.

"Good luck nee-san and nii-san," he smiled softly to them as he moved to the reserved seating for the close friends and family of those competing. Kakashi put a hand on Asuma and Guy who handed him their ninja tools.

"Good luck you two," he said before joining Gaara.

After about 15 minutes of waiting for the others to make their attempt at the course, it was finally Asuma's turn. Guy and the Sand shinobi already went ahead of him, but as the Tsuchikage said, there was no way to know if they succeeded or what truly laid ahead.

"Next up, representing Konohagakure, Sarutobi Asuma!" when his name was called, he took a deep breath.

"_Okay, Asuma. This is for Kurenai. You can do this!" _he went out and saw a balance beam with pendulums swinging back and forth with various blunted blades and bludgeons attached to them swinging back and forth at varying speeds…and with them moving so fast, it was hard to tell what was after that. There was a pool of water beneath it. He then heard the sound of a horn going off, indicating it was time for him to start. He ran with all his speed towards the stairs leading up to the balance beam. Even though they were blunted, the blades didn't look any less dangerous, but he was a shinobi of Konoha, damn it, and he was doing this for the woman he loved. He went in after the first blade swung by and held his breath in to make his body as compact as possible while he moved through the gauntlet of pendulums. One of the larger bludgeons almost knocked him off but he grabbed onto it and rode on it as it swung back and forth and the moved to the next one as it swung by, effectively making the pendulums less dangerous and only a matter of timing before finally completing this portion of the first course. There was no time to breathe as he had to rush to the next section, a series of pillars standing in water. He assumed this was a test of balance and to use no chakra to try to move from one pillar to the next to the other side. As soon as he stepped on the first pillar, it swung to the side and he quickly jumped off to the next one. The pillars were tilting at the slightest weight! He had to make this one even faster than the first course. The pillars fell as he moved from one to the next and almost lost his balance as he jumped to the final pillar and to the end of that portion. There was one more obstacle in the first division…a wire from one side of a water pit to the other, with a hand crank on it. So it wasn't about balancing on the thin wire, but about upper body strength to make it across this one. Asuma grinned and leapt to it, pedaling for all he was worth. This portion of the course seemed to fit him perfectly. When he finished and rushed into the next waiting room, the spectators cheered him on. He looked inside as to how many shinobi were waiting. Guy and the two Sand siblings nodded at him and he noticed that both Mist and one each from Rock and Cloud were missing.

"So half of us are already eliminated," Asuma said.

"But if that's only half as much as they can throw at us, we can do this no problem. You'll win this no doubt!" Guy said.

"Are you planning on losing on purpose, or are you not as confident as we saw?" Temari asked.

"Oh I'm going to compete to the best of my abilities within the rules, but Asuma has something that we don't: A goal to reach beyond the pride of our village. That will give him the edge," Guy assured her.

"And what would that be?" Kankuro asked.

"The love of A WOMAN!" Guy shouted, making Asuma blush, Kankuro laugh, and Temari to smile a bit.

"Well then, good luck to you," Temari said.

"Yeah. I wonder how she'll react if you fall flat on your butt though!" Kankuro grinned.

"Why would that be?" Asuma asked.

"Don't you know, this competition is being televised and shown all over the continent," Kankuro replied, "No pressure." Asuma however, began to sweat a little.

_"What if she's watching..?"_

"Now everyone, it is time for round two. Let's see if you've got what it takes!" The Tsuchikage announced through the speakers.

Again Asuma was made to wait until all of the others went ahead of him and then he held his breath to go out. This time he saw another long balance beam in an enclosed room. Attached to the walls were axles that were attached to the bottom of the balance beam, _"There has to be more to this than what it seems," _the jonin thought as he proceeded. As soon as he stepped on the balance beam, it began to spin rapidly. He jumped up in time before it could send him to the water below. He landed on the next one but it also began to do the same. This was definitely a test of speed. Asuma didn't have time to think, just move as fast as possible but as he got half way through this course, the roof opened up and sand began to cascade down like a waterfall in bursts at the end of it. Without time to figure out the timing of this one, Asuma just sped up and hoped for the best. As he was about to reach the end, a pile of sand hit him in the back, but he successfully grabbed on to the edge of it and tried to pull himself up, but the sand continued to pour. He lost his grip on one hand and trying to get it back was impossible since the platform was covered in sand. So he did the only thing he could do, wait for a gap in the bursts of sand coming down on top of him and then swung himself up with one arm and rolled to safety. He wanted to take a breather, but Asuma knew he lost precious time so he got up and moved on to the next part of this course. This was the strangest one yet, he saw a large trampoline and three tall pillars with large springs sticking out diagonally. The pillars were attached to a roof structure that had a wire leading from it downwards to the end of the course. _"Now what?" _Asuma said as he ran towards the trampoline. He jumped on it and bounced upwards. He tried to control his landing to the nearest spring. Normally this would be a simple job, but he wasn't allowed to use chakra, so controlling where he was heading was more difficult. Also the springs began to spin around the pillar so he had to figure out how to control his landing to where the spring was going _to be_ instead of where it currently was. Asuma was sweating and grunted as he made the first spring, bouncing further upwards. He grabbed onto the next pillar by wrapping his arms around it but he was slipping. He let go when he was confident he would make it and landed on the second spring, sending him towards the third one. He didn't get enough altitude however, so he grabbed onto the bottom of the spring instead and it swung him around the pillar over and over and he let go when he got enough momentum and it sent him back to the second one, but this time with more speed and he bounced off of it sending him above the third spring to which he successfully launched himself to the roof. Asuma saw a handhold there and grabbed onto it, but it had a wheel on it that was resting on the wire and gravity began to cause him to move downwards rapidly. As he descended, he noticed a series of columns that were in the way. He curled his legs trying to make his body as compact as possible to avoid hitting them as he moved downwards. His feet brushed against the last few, almost tripping him off of the course but he made it, rolling into the finish line for the second round. When he stood up again and walked into the next waiting room, all he saw was a sign that said, **"The rules have changed. Move fast!"**

Asuma's eyes widened but he did as instructed and when he went through all he saw was a simple rope-climbing setup with apparently no surprises and a bell to ring at the top. He heard the crowd yell "MOVE!" and he ran as fast as he could towards the rope and began to climb it. Normally this climb wouldn't be trouble, but the previous trials exhausted him and he could feel the strain of his muscles as he climbed up and up. He saw measurements on the side of the rope as he climbed up, **5m, 10m, **counting all the indicators ahead he saw it was a total of 20 meters tall. He continued the climb to the cheer of the spectators and he saw Kakashi cheering him on as well. However he closed his eyes and conjured up the image of his _real_ inspiration. Thinking of Kurenai's beautiful ruby-like eyes and lips and her flowing dark hair and bright smile, he felt a second wind and rushed up the rope even faster and the cheers escalated as he finally reached the 20 meter mark and rang the bell to a standing ovation.

"The contest is over! We have a winner!" the Tsuchikage announced, but instead of his seat in the VIP area, he heard him from below, exiting the second stage, "I will explain all and then give you the reward you seek." Asuma grinned and slid down the rope slowly until he reached the ground again and the Tsuchikage smiled and held out his hand and Asuma shook it to another standing ovation.

"Let me explain," the Tsuchikage began, "The rules for this last round were very different. In between the first and second round, the contestants had time to rest. However to make things interesting, there was no time in between the second and third rounds. Also there was a very different time limit. The contestant had to reach the top before the next contestant arrived at the third round. Since there was a line of contestants essentially going from the second round to the third round, with some being eliminated during the second, there was a possibility that a contestant would reach the rope while another was still climbing it. If that happened, the person still climbing would automatically be disqualified and the person at the bottom would be given a chance to climb. Now since Asuma here was the last contestant to enter, he needed some competition behind him and this is what really made things interesting. I started all the way in round one and worked my way through without stopping and if I reached this point while he was still climbing, there would be no winner this year. However this jonin from Konoha bested me fair and square, so now I ask you, what reward do you seek?"

Asuma had to catch his breath for a moment before answering, "There is a certain ring being sold in your village that I need, but it is much too expensive for me to afford."

"Say no more, it will be yours by the end of the day."

"_I did it Kurenai. You'll have your ring soon," _Asuma said to himself, the thrill of victory overcoming him.

(A/N: Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, but it's not over yet. Oh the adding of the Sand Siblings was something I came up with last minute as I was writing this one. Next chapter the jonin will come home and Asuma will have the ring he needs. Now the hard part really begins. He'll have to have a whole different kind of courage as he tries to figure out the best way to propose to his Kurenai.)


	8. Return to Konoha

Chapter 8—Return to Konoha

(A/N: Well here is the next update. I hope you didn't wait too long. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far and especially for my new readers Aimi Willows and idxms. There's much fun to be had ahead so kick back and enjoy.)

(Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters; they belong to the great Kishimoto-sensei.)

Asuma caught up with Kakashi and Guy after paying for his stay at the inn in Iwa. Just as promised, the Tsuchikage paid for the ring that Asuma wanted to give to Kurenai when he got home. Smiling, he pocketed it in the vest he was borrowing from Guy…along with the rest of his extra green outfit. Asuma sighed. He knew that if he showed up in Konoha wearing that outfit, he won't be able to live it down for a while, but he had no choice.

"What are you waiting for slow poke!" Guy said, "Kakashi'll leave without us and I owe him a rematch."

"Coming," Asuma replied. The three jonin then began the long trek back to Konoha…but first.

"Ready…Steady…GO!" Guy was off like a blur heading down the mountain by ninja leaping his way, "Come on Kakashi!" he called for his friend to race.

"Not again," Kakashi sighed, taking off as well while Asuma took his time not wasting energy.

"If I lose this one, I'll walk the entire way back to Konoha on my hands!" Guy swore as he ran.

"That's crazy…even for you!" Kakashi replied.

"Never the less I already made the promise!" Guy replied.

"_Grr…better __**let**__ him with this one…"_ Kakashi thought to himself as he slowed just a bit.

"I made it!" Guy said.

"Congratulations. You are certainly worthy of being my rival," Kakashi said back at his friend half-sarcastically. Asuma soon caught up with them.

"Who won?" Asuma asked.

"I did!" Guy replied with the Nice Guy Pose.

"That's nice…but I want to hurry home now. I can't wait to show Kurenai the ring," Asuma replied.

"Ah the power of love and youth!" Guy said, "I can't wait to see her reaction either!"

"Umm…I think Asuma would rather give it to her in private," Kakashi pointed out.

"Oh okay if you say so," Guy said, his enthusiasm dropping a notch.

"Follow me guys, I'll lead the way," Asuma said.

"Alright," Kakashi and Guy replied.

"So guys, tell me," Asuma said, "What happened to the other players before I arrived at that final challenge.

"Only Guy and the Sand siblings made it to near the end. They did pretty good," Kakashi said, "Kankuro made it to the last part of stage two, but the slide down to the exit got him."

"And his sister made it even further, all the way to the rope climb. However I was hot on her heels and was able to reach the rope before she got to the top," Guy said, "That disqualified her and while I was climbing myself, I was nearly at the top and you know what happened?"

"What?" Asuma asked.

"I was tempted to open the First Gate to get over the exhaustion. Even though I didn't, I let go of the rope of my own free will as punishment for even _thinking_ of breaking a rule of the contest! That's how you were the last competitor."

"Are you sure you didn't just let me win?" Asuma asked seriously.

"I would never do such a thing! When I compete, I give it my all. That's a promise!"

"All right, all right, I believe you…let's just go. This is starting off to be a good day and I don't want it ruined."

XXX

Several hours later, the trio returned to Konoha's gates without incident, to the relief of Asuma who felt he had gone through enough trouble just _getting_ to Iwagakure much less anything bad happening on the way home. Waiting for them was Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo.

"Yo!" Kotetsu waved at them.

"Mission accomplished," Kakashi said.

"We know," Izumo replied, "All of Konoha saw it. The event was televised…though we weren't expecting Asuma-san to compete in your place…and in Guy's outfit," he snickered.

"It looks even more ridiculous in person," Kotetsu added with a laugh.

Asuma sweat-dropped; he almost forgot, "Oh no…Kurenai must've seen everything…my surprise'll be ruined!"

"We don't know about that one way or the other, but I guess you'll just have to ask," Izumo said.

"Better report to Hokage-sama though. She's expecting all three of you," Kotetsu added. Asuma, Guy, and Kakashi nodded their thanks and ran to the Hokage Tower. Kakashi knocked on her door.

"Come in," the voice of Tsunade sounded. Opening the door, they saw their Hokage with an annoyed look on her face, her assistant Shizune looked a little nervous.

"Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy, I guess I can consider your mission a success…despite the fact that Sarutobi Asuma joined in apparently replacing you Kakashi…so I guess that means he gets your share of the pay."

"Hokage-sama I can explain…" Kakashi started.

"There's no need. I had already assigned Asuma on a mission. I didn't expect yours to overlap with it though.

"Well you _did_ tell me to find Kurenai the best possible ring and for that I had to go to Iwagakure," Asuma explained.

"Yes that's true. I give you bonus points on the creative way you managed to get your hands on it too…but part of proposing to a woman is being able to surprise her and you announced your intentions on international television!"

"Oh no…Kurenai noticed."

"No…I had to come up with a last-minute excuse to keep her away from watching the tournament. It was very annoying being put on the spot like that by you!"

"Umm…I'm sorry…I was only trying to do what was best…"

"Don't interrupt! I said it was hard for me to get her away from the television. I actually…had to…have her deliver some money to pay off one of my many gambling debts! Do you realize how embarrassing that is for me and the village?!" Tsunade yelled. Asuma looked nervous and Guy and Kakashi didn't know whether to feel just as nervous or just laugh at their friend.

"Don't let Tsunade-sama bring you down," Shizune said gently, "I personally thought it was very nice and romantic and Kurenai-san has something to look forward to."

"Yes she does." Tsunade nodded her head and smiled more genuinely, all traces of her mild fury gone, "Fortunately I was able to get her out of the village in time before she saw you compete and she should be back in an hour or so…plenty of time to get ready for a romantic date with her."

"I will," Asuma nodded

"Oh and can I offer a piece of advice…not as your Hokage but as a woman?"

"Umm…okay."

"Change out of that outfit and wear something decent! That get-up looks even more ridiculous on you than it does Guy!" Tsunade said rather forcefully, causing Guy to cry waterfalls and Asuma to blush while Kakashi and Shizune were snickering.

XXX

About an hour later, during which time Asuma decided it was best to shower before the big night, he got a message from Tsunade that Kurenai had finally returned to the village so he immediately called her on her phone. After a few rings, she picked up, "Hello?"

"Hello Kurenai," Asuma smiled, "It's wonderful to hear your voice."

"Yours too," Kurenai replied. Asuma could almost hear her smile over her phone, "I heard you had a little excitement recently, but everyone I ask is refusing to give me any details. Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Not yet my love," Asuma breathed a sigh of relief, "But soon it will all be cleared up."

"But Asuma, I missed you and…I'll admit it only between you and me…I was a little worried about you, the way you left so suddenly. I know orders are orders, but still…"

"You know how Tsunade-sama is," Asuma said in return, "Always with the last minute missions."

"Tell me about it. Why while I was about to watch this big event on television from Iwagakure, she actually called me in her office, never mind that I was on the toilet at the time, she said 'NOW' like it was life or death, but all it was a small delivery mission any genin could've done for her…ughh!" Kurenai said in frustration.

"I'm sorry that you had a bad day. How about I take you out on a nice dinner date to make up for it," Asuma suggested.

"Okay, that sounds nice, but give me time to get ready. Where would you like to take me?"

That was a tough question. His usual hangout at the Korean Barbeque wouldn't do too well and the Hibachi restaurant was too crowded for what he intended. "Hmm…" he started to think out loud, "This may break the money I just got from my mission, but how about Little Italia?" he suggested.

"Really? Are you sure? The wait is usually an hour because it's so busy and the food can get very pricy," Kurenai reminded him.

"If you feel you can wait that long to sit and eat, I'd like to take you there…I really want to dress up nice for you tonight."

"Oh…okay," Kurenai replied shyly…almost as if she was 10 years younger, "And I'll dress up really nice for you as well," she promised, "Give me an hour and a half and pick me up, that should allow you to make reservations right?"

"That will do fine. I can't wait to see you," Asuma said.

"I'll make it worth the wait," Kurenai promised.

"I love you Kurenai," Asuma whispered.

"I love you too, Asuma," Kurenai replied. Then they hanged up together.

XXX

Kurenai was smiling softly as she got ready. She had a rather boring day, but that was all coming to an end. She always wanted to go to Little Italia, but the high prices and the long wait usually kept her away. Asuma loved taking her out on dinner dates, but usually at simpler places, not that Kurenai was one to complain about it. She loved him with all her heart and loved the fact that he liked treating her. It was a little tough trying to keep their relationship discreet, but that was also part of the fun of it. They even denied for the longest time that they were together in front of their friends, but of course they chose smart friends who figured it out easily and then there was no point in keeping their relationship secret, but that didn't mean Asuma was one to flaunt Kurenai around like a trophy. He kept it simple, they held hands in public and when they felt no one was looking, snuck in some kissing in a hidden corner here and there when they went on their walks…but sometimes that lead to them going to one of their apartments and…even that was nice and gentle. It's a loving mature relationship but at the same time keeping a certain level of innocence. Finally done, Kurenai looked herself over in her mirror. She kept her hair down just as Asuma liked it. She also decided on a small amount of eye shadow to compliment her deep red eyes she loved using to lower his defenses. Add to that her ruby lipstick and she knew that he'd fall for her all over again. And if that wouldn't do the trick, she knew her dress would. She was wearing a spaghetti strap black dress that was very revealing when it came to her shoulders and cleavage, but long enough to cover her legs down to half way between her knees and ankles. Satisfied with how she looked she sat down in her room patiently waiting for Asuma to arrive...

XXX

Asuma couldn't help but grin as he headed towards Kurenai's apartment. This would be the biggest night of his life. The biggest since he first met the lovely kunoichi. Even though it really wasn't that long ago, Asuma couldn't imagine his life without Kurenai and he was determined to make sure she knew it and that they'd be together forever. They came a long way from the man who volunteered to show the new jonin the ropes. Of course working so closely, it almost seemed natural to be attracted to each other and despite the fact they were the same age, it seemed that he was the older sempai teaching and caring for a younger kohai and both learned to respect and admire each other which eventually turned to love. At first they denied their relationship in front of their friends because he didn't want them to think he was taking advantage of her, but they figured it out on their own and in retrospect, his worries seemed very silly since they more than approved of the relationship and what a relationship it was! They enjoyed the simple things like romantic walks through the villages and eating together, taking turns treating each other, going to the movies, and occasionally speding the night together...Now here he was, dressed up in a navy blue suit and tie with the ring he won for her in his pocket. He finally approached her apartment and knocked on the door. When Asuma saw the door open, his jaw dropped. Kurenai always knew what Asuma liked the most about her beauty and accented everything perfectly. But of course this only hinted at the inner beauty he found the most endearing.

"See something you like?" Kurenai joked.

"Very much so," Asuma replied seriously. Kurenai smiled softly and blushed a bit but definitely didn't mind Asuma's eyes checking her out…after all she was doing the same thing and very much enjoyed the rare sight of her lover dressed this fancy.

"Shall we be off?" Asuma asked, offering her his arm.

"Yes. I'm starving…you did make the reservations so we wouldn't have to wait right?" Kurenai asked.

"Damn I knew I forgot something!" Asuma slapped himself on the head and she gave him a death glare, "Kidding, kidding. We should be seated as soon as we get there."

Kurenai playfully punched Asuma in the arm, "We better be."

"Ow…your love taps hurt sometimes."

"Oh I'm sorry," Kurenai said, leaning on his arm and then standing on her toes to lightly kiss his cheek, "better?"

Asuma couldn't help but smile, "Yeah I think that'll make up for it. Let's go." Then they walked slowly, hand in hand, towards the dinner that will change their lives forever…

[A/N: The end…just kidding! But I'm almost done with this story. Only one or two more chapters to go. After all this is supposed to be about Asuma _and_ Kurenai but her presence was very much missed up until this point. I intend to make up for that in these last few chapters. I don't know if Konoha really has a fancy Italian restaurant, or even a Hibachi resturant, but I wanted Asuma to take Kurenai somewhere besides Ichiraku's or the Korean Barbeque to propose. Also for those who don't know a sempai is someone who is more experienced than you (either in school or work) that helps train or teach you and is also considered at least a close friend, but can lead to something more and a kohai is opposite relationship (the one a sempai looks after). Also, for those who are interested, I recently updated my profile to list more of my favorites in addition to friends I've made through and a short guide to my stories that fit in a series. Next chapter is the big dinner date, but some unexpected troublemakers show up…I hope you all look forward to it. Please leave me some reviews to let me know what you thought of this chapter…man I think this is the longest author note I ever wrote...]


	9. A Dinner to Remember

Chapter 9—A Dinner to Remember

(A/N: Once again I must thank my readers for the great feedback. I bet I surprised you by updating again so soon. I surprised myself, but I did make a promise after all to try to do better. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.)

(Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters; they belong to the great Kishimoto-sensei.)

It was a beautiful moonlit night with the stars sparkling like diamonds as Asuma and Kurenai walked slowly through the streets of Konoha. They smiled and gazed at each other occasionally as well as squeezing each others' hands as they walked together in a comfortable silence. However they were too focused on each other to notice a small group of shadows stalking them.

"Are you sure about this?" A young voice asked, who sounded like a young boy.

"Yeah after all this _is _Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei we're talking about," A second young voice chimed in, this one sounded like a little girl.

"That's exactly why we _should_ do this guys," A third voice said this one sounded like a young boy, "It'll be a perfect test of our developing skills as shinobi. It looks like they're heading to that fancy restaurant over there. Okay you two remember what to do right?"

"Yes we do," the first young man said.

"Okay if you're sure," the little girl said.

"Come on guys, this'll be fun," the second young man said, "We're going to be embarrassment ninjas tonight!"

XXX

Kurenai smiled as she leaned on Asuma as they stood outside of the restaurant Konoha Italia, "Mmm…the place smells good just standing out here," she said, "Thank you for arranging a dinner here."

"You deserve the best my love," Asuma replied with a small kiss to her cheek, "And part of that is not waiting out here with everyone else. Let's go in and claim our table."

"I thought you'd never ask," Kurenai replied. They walked inside where a hostess was waiting.

"Do you two have reservations?" she asked.

"Yes we do. Two under Sarutobi Asuma."

"Sarutobi Asuma? Well it's a pleasure to have a celebrity in our restaurant. I'll seat you both myself," she smiled and grabbed two menus, "Follow me please." After about a minute she found them a nice table by a window and left them a pair of menus.

"Celebrity? What's she talking about Asuma?" Kurenai asked once the hostess was out of earshot.

"Probably the fact that I'm Sandaime's son," Asuma replied quickly.

"That's true," Kurenai nodded, "But that's never gotten you special treatment before," she pointed out.

"Well…I've never eaten at a fancy place like this…maybe they pay more attention to stuff like that here?" Asuma suggested.

"I guess…" Kurenai said, but not entirely sure of herself, "Are you hiding something from me?" she asked.

"Why would I hide something from you?" Asuma asked.

"Well I'd understand if it had something to do with this secret mission of yours that you just got back from. I hope you can tell me but if not, well I'll understand of course."

"I'll be able to tell you by the time this night is over. I promise," Asuma replied. Just then a waitress came to their table with a basket of breadsticks.

"Welcome to Konoha Italia," she said with a smile and placing the basket in the center of the table, "Would you like a few minutes to look over your menus?"

"Yes please," Kurenai said.

"Can I offer you anything to drink?" she asked.

"How about some champagne," Asuma said.

"Ahh…I understand completely," the waitress winked, "Good luck. And I'll be back with it soon," then she walked off.

"That was weird," Kurenai said, "Do you think she's tried some of the champagne?" she joked.

"I don't know. Funny wasn't she," Asuma replied. Then he stuffed a breadstick in his mouth, _"Great. Everyone in the village saw me on TV and knows what I'm doing here. Trying to keep this secret long enough to do it properly is going to be harder than I thought."_

"..and teaching those two to dance was interesting to say the least," Kurenai said, "Hey Asuma…are you paying attention?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Sorry…kinda spaced out there for a second. What was that?" Asuma said swallowing the last of the breadstick.

"Are you sure you're okay. Now you're acting weird. You've never spaced out on me before on a date," Kurenai said concerned.

"I'm sorry…this last mission was a doozie to say the least."

"Well I can't wait for you to tell me about it, but I guess I have to," Kurenai said.'

"Sorry dear. Orders are orders," Asuma replied, "Speaking of, do you know what you want to order? Don't worry about price either."

"Hmm…if that's the case, I think I'll go with this seafood alfredo," Kurenai smiled.

"Cool. I'm going to go with the chicken parmesan."

"I still can't believe you took me here, Asuma. It's not even our anniversary or anything."

"Can't I just treat my lover to a nice fancy dinner with no special reasons?" Asuma smiled mischievously at her.

"Okay that's it," Kurenai smiled, picking up a breadstick, "You're up to something. I know that look," she pointed the breadstick at him like an accusing finger

"Maaaaaaaybe….maaaaaaaaybe not. You're just going to have to wait," Asuma replied.

Kurenai tried to get annoyed but when he acted like a big kid like this, she couldn't help but think it cute and sweet. "Okay I'll play along for now, but I'll want answers eventually Sarutobi Asuma," she said then took a bite.

He just continued to grin but took her hand in his and kissed it softly, "It'll be worth the wait trust me."

Just then the waitress returned with the champagne and two glasses, "Here is your champagne. Have you decided what you'd like for your dinner?" she asked.

"Seafood alfredo," Kurenai said.

"And I'll have the chicken parmesan," Asuma said.

"Good choices. They both come with salads so I'll be back with them in a few minutes," the waitress smiled back.

After Kurenai finished her share of the bread, Asuma popped the cork of the champagne and poured each of them a glass, "Here's to you my love," he said taking a sip.

"And to our growing love," Kurenai replied taking a sip herself. Soon their salad arrived and as they ate it, they continued to sample the champagne, their eyes locked on each other as they each told the other how things have been going with their squads. Neither of them noticed a quick blur duck underneath the table. Half a minute later the blur emerged and hid in a corner snickering.

"I didn't get caught. I'm so awesome!" the second young boy continued to snicker.

"You really got away with it?" his friends asked.

"Well find out in a second…plus I got a nice view up Kurenai-sensei's dress!"

"You pervert!" the young girl smacked her friend on the head while his other friend just blushed.

XXX

Finally, as the happy couple was about half way through their salads, Asuma remembered something critical, "Umm…Kurenai…I'll be right back…I forgot what champagne does to me," he blushed.

"Bathroom?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said and stood up to go however as soon as he tried to take a step he fell flat on his face, "AAAAHH!" he shouted. A waiter carrying a tray of drinks however, didn't hear him in time and tripped over him spilling soda everywhere around them. Asuma's back was soaked…and so was Kurenai's hair. The kunoichi shouted in surprise and Asuma tried to get to his feet but couldn't so he looked at his shoes and saw that they were tied together, "What the heck?"

"Asuma are you alright?" Kurenai said, ignoring the mess in her hair and bent down to her lover's side.

"Someone tied my shoes together!" Asuma shouted. Kurenai untied Asuma's shoes and helped him to his feet.

"Hang on, this waiter took a stumble too," he said and helped the poor man up.

"Someone tied your shoes together?" he asked, "I don't see any kids at your table!" he sounded angry.

"Well I didn't do it to myself."

"Whatever. I'm glad I'm not serving your table anyways."

"Look just get us some towels and I'll clean it up," Asuma sighed. The waiter walked off in a huff and returned with towels and Asuma cleaned up the floor around his area and the seat he sat in. Kurenai took one to dry her hair, "I can't believe this," Asuma said, "Why tonight?" he groaned.

"Do you have any idea what happened?" Kurenai asked.

"I have a pretty good idea. For his sake he better have been satisfied by that!"

"Hey," Kurenai smiled and put a gentle hand on Asuma's shoulder, "Don't let this ruin our evening. Our food should be here soon."

"Sure you want to still eat now that we're covered in soda."

"We've both had worse happen to us," Kurenai pointed out, "Here comes our dinner."

"I heard what happened, I'm so sorry," the waitress said, "I hope you'll still continue your evening though."

"Yes we will," Asuma smiled at her as she put their food on the table.

"Would you like anything else for now?"

"No we're good," Asuma replied.

"Enjoy," the waitress smiled and left. Asuma and Kurenai unfolded their napkins and placed them on their laps, and were about to dig in when something dark came down from the ceiling.

"Nani?" Asuma asked. Kurenai jumped up on her chair and screamed in surprise. On her plate was what looked to be a rat. Asuma glared at the offending rodent but soon realized it was fake, "It's okay, it's rubber…one moment…" he looked for a string but couldn't find anything and he tossed it down on the floor, "I know you're out there…one more stunt and you'll pay!"

Kurenai came down from her chair blushing, "Sorry…it's not that I'm afraid of rats or anything…it came at me by surprise…I'm beginning to think that this date was a bad idea."

"Please stay. I think they're done now. Let's just eat," Asuma said.

"Okay…but this is the last chance," Kurenai replied.

"It's not like this is my fault…"

"I'm sorry…" Kurenai said her face looking down, but Asuma reached over and tilted her chin up.

"I forgive you…and I love you," he kissed her softly, "mmm…you still taste good."

"I'm glad…okay let's eat!" she said eagerly.

XXX

The first young boy emerged from the air conditioning duct, "Whew I almost got busted."

"It seemed to work out just like my prank," the second young boy said.

"Did you hear what Asuma-sensei said? I think this has gone far enough," the young girl said.

"Aww come on…we're on a roll. And we haven't gotten caught. This is a successful mission so far. We just need to finish them off! You both are in aren't you? We get to use that jutsu we all like," the first boy said tempting his friends.

"Oh okay. We really don't get to use it that much," his friends agreed.

XXX

Asuma and Kurenai had just finished their meal when the waitress came and asked them if they wanted dessert, they declined and so she left to bring them the check.

"Well that was a nice meal…despite the setbacks," Kurenai said.

"Yeah. I think they got the message," Asuma replied. However a trio of very beautiful and buxom women approached their table. One had long black hair and a red dress, another had short black hair and glasses and what looked to be a nurse's outfit, and the third had long light brown hair and a yellow bikini with a wrap around the waist.

"Oh! Asuma-sama!" the first girl said and wrapped her arms around the poor jonin's neck.

"You were _**SO**_ heroic yesterday!" the second girl added snatching Asuma's left arm.

"Umm…" Asuma tried to say something but couldn't. Kurenai glared daggers at him breaking down his defenses.

"You are the _**SEXIEST**_ in Konoha!" The third girl said grabbing Asuma's right arm.

"Come and play with us!" They all said together and began to squeeze the unsuspecting man against their "assets."

"B…b…but…" Asuma had a small trickle of blood run down his nose and closed his eyes,_ "Must…resist…urge…to nosebleed! Focus on Kurenai! Focus…where is she?"_ He looked up just in time to see Kurenai's hand head straight for his face and then without a word, stormed out of the restaurant. All three girls stopped in shock and so did Asuma. They all let go of him and had goofy grins on their faces. "I should've known! Dispel that ninjutsu at once!" The three girls pouted but then they poofed into white smoke and standing in their places were Konohamaru and his friends Udon and Moegi. "You three. Your butts will belong to me for a month! And trust me you won't like it!" Then he placed a large amount of money on the table, more than enough to pay for the bill, and ran out of the restaurant himself.

"Told you we took it too far," Moegi scolded Konohamaru.

"Aww…it was just a joke. Couldn't they take a joke?" Konohamaru replied.

"I think that we shouldn't've done this…maybe they were trying to do something special tonight," Udon pointed out.

"I think you're right!" Moegi said, pointing to the ground near the table where a small box laid.

"Oh man…do you think…" Konohamaru started to reach for it, but Moegi took the box before he could and slapped his hand away. She peeked inside.

"We screwed up big! We got to apologize to him," Moegi said.

"No way! He just can't take a joke!" Konohamaru said.

"Asuma-sensei was pretty scary there," Udon said.

"I'll do it myself then!" Moegi said and ran out after the two jonin.

XXX

"Kurenai! Wait up will ya!" Asuma shouted as he ran after his girlfriend…well he hoped she was still his girlfriend after what his nephew pulled. Kurenai turned around swiftly and gave him a glare that would make even Tsunade proud.

"I have never been so humiliated in my life!" she shouted at him, "Here I thought that what was going on were some relatively harmless pranks that I could ignore…but it clearly was due to some younger…bouncier women who you seemed to take more of an interest in than me! I get dressed up for you, only to have it ruined by soda spilling everywhere, then I get freaked out by a fake rat! And just when things were finally getting good, not one, but _three_ women throw themselves all over you! I think _they _were the ones responsible for all of this, trying to get me to break up with you. Well they're about to succeed. What do you have to say for yourself Sarutobi Asuma!"

"Those three…they _were_ my nephew and his friends."

"Yeah right, they're not even genin yet, they couldn't pull off a complicated transformation jutsu like that!"

"Humph. You don't know them very well obviously," Asuma retorted, "but even if those _were_ real women you're the only one for me!"

"Prove it to me!" Kurenai demanded. Asuma said nothing but rapidly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him and kissed her with such passion and ferocity that she never felt before. She gasped in surprise which only allowed him to deepen the kiss further, ravishing her mouth while pressing their bodies together. She growled against his kiss and punched his shoulder a few times, but eventually stopped fighting it and returned the kiss with equal passion, both fighting for dominance, not noticing the wide-eyed onlookers who were staring at them.

Asuma was the one to break the kiss, both out of breath, but still held onto Kurenai's shoulders, "Satisfied?" he asked.

"I think so…" Kurenai said.

"You 'think so?' Well now _I'm_ the one not satisfied. I went through a _lot _of trouble to get to this point today and I wanted it to be nice and romantic and perfect but I can't seem to catch a break so I'll just come right out and do this! I love you Kurenai!" Asuma shouted and began to reach into his pocket, "No! Don't do this to me," he said desperately.

"Asuma…you've never said those words to me…not in public," Kurenai gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth in surprise.

"I'm not done yet," Asuma said, "Where is it?" he muttered to himself.

"Where's what?" Kurenai asked. Just then Moegi showed up huffing.

"I'm glad I caught you two," she said, "Asuma-sensei…umm…you dropped this," she said shyly, offering the small box.

"Thank goodness," he said taking it in a breath of relief.

"Umm…Kurenai-sensei…" Moegi turned to her, "I'm sorry for my part in what happened tonight. Those other women were me and my friends performing our improved Puri Puri no Jutsu. We had no idea how important this night was for you two until I saw that box…I hope you can forgive us…"

"You were telling the truth then," Kurenai said to Asuma who nodded, "So…what's in the box?" she asked.

"Like I said, I wanted it to be perfect because that's what you deserve…but I also promised to tell you what the heck's been going on with me by the end of the night so here goes," Asuma said and got down on one knee in front of Kurenai.

He opened the box and presented her the ring he went through so much to acquire. She stared at it in wonder. The center diamond was sparkling in the moonlight and was surrounded by smaller rubies, very deep crimson in color. Just as deep as her eyes and lips, Kurenai realized, smiling to herself cause she knew what her Asuma liked. Plus the ring had an opening to fit in the wedding band within it to make a larger ring.

"Yuhi Kurenai. You have been my closest companion, my dearest friend, and my lover. We have been through a lot together and came out stronger. Our bond is deep, but there is one thing that we can do to make it even better…will you marry me?" he asked.

All traces of Kurenai's earlier anger at him instantly vanished as she was overwhelmed by the feelings of love she had for the man kneeling in front of her. Feelings she knew he returned. She smiled wider than she ever did, and there were tears in her eyes as she took Asuma's hands in her own, "Yes. Yes Asuma. I will marry you!" Asuma uncharacteristically grinned boyishly as he took her hand and placed the ring on her ring finger, to the applause of everyone around them

Moegi smiled and clasped her hands together and raised them to one side to lean on them, "How romantic," she said.

Asuma then stood up and got the biggest hug from her ever, "I love you Sarutobi Asuma," Kurenai said kissing his ear.

"And I love you Yuhi Kurenai."

"And this ring! It's the best ring I've ever seen," she said pulling away and admiring it, "How on earth did you ever find it?"

"That's a long story," Asuma replied.

"Tell you what," Kurenai said, "You take me home and you can tell me…first thing in the morning," she winked at him. Asuma didn't need any further encouragement as he took her arm and led her back to her home as quickly as possible…

(A/N: Well I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I could end this story here, or squeeze out one more chapter. What do you guys think? Leave me some feedback and let me know. And a very happy V-day for all you lovers out there, just in case I don't get to writing anything else before tomorrow.)


	10. The Wedding

Chapter 10--The Wedding

(A/N: Well, here it is, the final chapter of my first Asuma/Kurenai fanfic. I'd like to thank all the readers who have given me their feedback and encouragement. I hope everyone enjoys! This is also my first wedding scene so I hope I get it right.)

(Disclamer: I don't own Naruto or it's characters. They belong to the great Kishimoto-sensei.)

Konohamaru was sweating bullets as he pulled out the weeds in the neighborhood where some of Konoha's more elderly citizens resided. He and Udon had been doing yard work for the past month…without adding said work to their record for D-rank missions as punishment for what they did to Asuma at his big dinner with Kurenai. Moegi had a lighter sentence for admitting what they did was wrong…she was planting flowers in the gardens in this neighborhood.

"Man I can't believe this…how long is Uncle Asuma going to make us do this grunt work?!" Konohamaru groaned as he picked up a very stubborn weed.

"He said until the day of the wedding, but he never told us what day that was," Udon replied, wiping his nose before returning to work.

"I bet he just forgot about us and already got married…or didn't tell us so we'd do this for the rest of our lives!" Konohamaru repiled.

"You two complain too much," Moegi said, cheerfully planting daisies at the areas where the boys cleared the weeds, "And work too slow. I've already caught up to you now _I_ have to sit here bored until you clear another area for me."

"Aww give us a break, Moegi-chan…pulling up weeds is harder than planting sissy flowers!" Konohamaru said, sticking out his tongue.

They aren't sissy, they're pretty!" Moegi countered.

"Please stop arguing you two," Udon insisted, then he pointed at someone coming towards them…wearing an orange jumpsuit

"Hey you three!" Naruto greeted them, "Your job here is over now. Asuma-sensei is getting married in three hours…you better be ready! He expects you all to dress appropriately and in his words 'No shenanigans or you'll _never_ make genin.'"

"Yes! Finally," Konhamaru cheered knowing his punishment of unfair and intense labor was finally over then gulped when he heard Asuma's threat, but then chuckled, "Wait…did Uncle Asuma actually use the word 'shenanigan?'"

"I know, funny isn't it," Naruto laughed, "Well, I'll see you at the wedding." With that, he left at break-neck ninja speed.

"I guess we better get ready," Konhamaru said…

XXX

The mid-afternoon sun shined brightly above Hokage Tower and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. On its large roof, several chairs were placed neatly in rows and there was a podium in the far back. There were stands all around the circumference with bright red roses as well as smaller flower pots with white carnations lining the sides of the makeshift aisle between the two groupings of chairs. There was no side designated specifically for the bride and groom since all of Konoha were their family and friends. They were there for both of them. However the front row was reserved for Asuma's and Kurenai's students specifically. Everyone else sat with their respective teammates, all of the guys dressed in their finest suits, the ladies in their finest dresses. Godaime Hokage Tsunade-sama stood behind the podium, smiling as she awaited the wedding party to emerge and advance. There were speakers also set out along the perimeter, playing some traditional wedding music as everyone waited.

Asuma was the first to emerge from the rear of the roof. He was grinning boyishly as he walked alongside his Best Man, Kakashi. Asuma wore a black tuxedo with a crimson tie and cummerbund while Kakashi wore a suit and tie of matching colors. When they walked down the aisle, everyone was smiling at Asuma, except for Guy who was letting out waterfalls of tears as one of his best friends was getting ready to tie the knot. Lee dutifully had a box of tissues ready for his sensei, but found he had to save a few for himself. Asuma shook his head and smiled, then looked straight ahead until Konohamaru and his friends waved enthusiastically at him. Asuma spared him a smile, then when he passed his team, Ino also couldn't hide her enthusiasm and waved just as hard as the young ninja-in-training. Shikamaru simply smiled and nodded and Chouji (who for once didn't have a bag of chips out) gave him a thumbs-up. Asuma and Kakashi arrived at the podium and stood to Tsunade's left. She greeted the groom with a nod and smile which he returned, then he stood facing the right side awaiting his lover.

Then the song changed to "Here Comes the Bride" and all eyes were turning towards the back of the roof and the out from the open hatch, Kurenai emerged smiling brightly. She was wearing a pure white shoulder-less and sleeveless dress that flowed from just above her cleavage line all the way to just above her feet. She also wore a tiara which had a veil come down over her face, but it did little to hide the fullness of her eyes and lips. In her hands, she held a beautiful bouquet of white roses, courtesy of the Yamanaka Flower Shop. As she finished climbing up the stairs to walk towards the podium, the trail of her dress was being held up by Shizune, her Maid-of-Honor. She was wearing a crimson shoulder-less and sleeveless dress and had a soft smile on her face as they proceeded to join Asuma. Moegi gave Kurenai a wave which she returned with a smile. Also from her team, Kiba grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, Shino simply smiled and nodded (a very emotional reaction coming from him), and Hinata blushed and smiled in her usual shy manner. Kurenai uncharacteristically let out a soft giggle at her team and then she was at the podium, standing to Tsunade's right. The two lovers stared into each other's eyes as best they could, considering the veil, but Tsunade cleared her throat and their attention was on their Hokage now.

"Dearly beloved," Tsunade began, addressing all of the guests, "Since the days in which Konoha was founded by my grandfather, Shodai Hokage Senju Hashirama-sama, he and all of his successors have had the joyful duty of being able to join two people in holy matrimony. It is with great happiness that I perform this duty for two of our best jonin who have found true love with each other. If there are any gathered here who have sufficient reason why these two should not be wed, let them speak now, or forever hold their peace," with that statement, Tsunade gave the crowd a death glare, showing everyone that such an objection will _not _be tolerated. When no one spoke, her smile returned as if it had never left, "Kakashi-san, please present the rings."

Kakashi nodded and took the wedding bands from out of his jacket pocket and handed one to Asuma and one to Kurenai.

"Thank you," Tsunade continued, "Now do you, Sarutobi Asuma, take this woman, Yuhi Kurenai, to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold? In sickness and in health? For richer or for poorer? Forsaking all others, until death do you part?"

"I do," Asuma smiled and placed his ring on Kurenai's finger.

Tsunade smiled and nodded, then turned her attention to Kurenai, "Do you, Yuhi Kurenai, take this man, Sarutobi Asuma, to be your lawfully husband? To have and to hold? In sickness and in health? For richer or poorer? Forsaking all others, until death do you part?"

"I do," Kurenai blushed happily and placed her ring on Asuma's finger.

"Then by the power vested in me as Godaime Hokage, I now pronouce you husband and wife…you know what to do," Tsunade winked.

"Yes ma'am!" Asuma grinned and lifted Kureani's veil and gave her a deep passionate kiss in front of everyone there, causing various people to applaud, cheer, blush, or a combination of the three.

"I now present to you…Mr. And Mrs. Sarutobi Asuma!" Tusnade pronounced loudly over the crowd. Everyone cheered once again and began to throw birdseed at them as they happily rushed back down the aisle and towards the start of their new life together. Asuma smiled at his new wife. His greatest ordeal was over and the reward was more than worth everything he went through. Now an even greater adventure lay ahead of him, the adventure of marriage.

THE END

[A/N: I know it was a little short, but I do hope you enjoyed the conclusion of this story. I certainly enjoyed writing it and look forward to writing more fics, though I'll be taking a short break from writing Naruto multi-chapter fics for now as the next two multi-chapter fics I plan on writing will be in other fandoms (though I may turn out a Naruto one-shot or two while I work on the other said projects). When I start up another major Naruto fic, I'll be sure to let my faithful readers know. Reviews, as always, are very welcome.]


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